heart of my heart

Welcome to our disaster house

2012-02-08T12:26:00.003-05:00

I can't believe I'm about to show you what my house has looked like for the past week. Here's what happened:

When I was coming back from my Created for Care conference (which I still need to blog about!) a little over a week ago Adam told me that our heat/hot water was not working. My first thought: dollar signs ca-ching, not cheap to fix. Our house is like 18ish years old so of course we have the top of the line heating system.... for when it was built. In a nutshell the heat and hot water work together to heat the house. So if there is no heat then there is no hot water = no fun.

So I called my dad who was in the heating and air business in his former life to see if he knew what it was about. Of course you can't get a regular ol' hot water heater at Lowes you have to get a fancy schmancy one that will work with our heating system. We found a place that sold us one and dad came up the next day to get to work. Then the chaos ensued...

And let us not forget that we are in the middle of our mini kitchen reno too! So there's a sneak peek of the cabinets piled with stuff. Not only are the cabinet doors in the dining room but the hot water heater was housed in the down stairs closet. So all the stuff in there had to come out...

Getting the old hot water heater out was a chore or so it appeared that way, I tell ya holding the door open for my dad and Adam was really tough. Even after it was drained they barely made it out the door before the bottom dropped out and nasty rusty water spewed out!

There is Mr. Fix it eating some pizza on the couch. There was no way we could cook for 2 days. Once the hot water heater was detached there were open pipes that if you ran too much water they would drip.

Thankfully some friends let us borrow their heater for our room at night (thanks stephanie!) and then my dad brought his mac-daddy heater that heated almost the whole house, well at least knocked the chill off.

And here is the old one posing with my very dead plant

There was lots of water, thankfully we had lots of old towels to mop it up

Great excuse to eat pizza for the night! Truth is I could eat it every night if it wouldn't make me fat!

All is well now and we are so thankful for my dad for all his hardwork and for saving us like $900.00! We are so grateful to have such loving, supportive, and don't forget handy parents! Things are slowly returning to normal and we have made some good progress on the kitchen so hopefully in the next week I'll have some pics!

2 Months!

2012-01-21T22:19:00.000-05:00

Today marks 2 months on the waitlist! This month went by quickly. We thought things would slow down after the Christmas season but this has not been the case. Our weekends have been filled and will continue to be through most of February. Maybe March will bring some calm. Some days it seems to hit me more than others like, oh wow at the end of this wait we will have a child, or we are really going to be parents, and that follows with am I old enough to have a child? haha some days I think I'm a strange sort of grown up and I look young so will people think I am babysitting my own child all the time? ya know, just your usual stream of consciousness!

Also our kitchen currently looks like this:

We're doing a small reno that makes a BIG mess so my nights during the week have been filled working on this so that we can get our house back together which equals no time for the computer or blogging! So forgive me and sooner or later I'll be able to show some hopefully great looking before and afters if all goes well!

Here's another random tidbit:

I have seen this article circulating on some mom/parent blogs called Don't Carpe Diem. I have mixed feelings about it.

I also saw this rebuttal if you will from one of my favorite mom blogs. I tend to agree more with what she is saying. Although I don't have children obviously and I know I could feel differently one day. Something our social worker told us when we were doing our homestudy that I hope I continue to remember is that your kids are small for just a short time. You will be with your child more as an adult than as a small child. Those hard days will pass so try to enjoy it while you can. Any thoughts?

homemade gift idea

2012-01-07T09:00:00.000-05:00

I saw this on the mother load of all inspirational websites that we are all madly, head over heels in love with, oh you know what I'm talking about. If you don't, then shame on you where have you been?!

My grandma likes teacups and tea things and tiny tea sets, you get the idea. So when I saw this I knew I had to make one for her to go with the rest of the stuff I was getting her. So off to goodwill I go.

I got a teacup and saucer and I also picked up some candle wicks at Michaels for like 2 bucks I think. And I already had a candle. So first I glued the teacup to the saucer using my fancy super sticky E-6000 glue which I already had.

Then as you can see I wrapped the wick around a popsicle stick so it would remain upright and in the middle for when I poured the wax in.

I also bought a glass at goodwill for like 80 cents so i didn't ruin one of ours. Then I just shaved off some candle and filled the glass. This part was MESSaaaaayyy. One think I learned. Over estimate how much was you'll need. I filled the glass up maybe 3/4 full of chunks of wax and it when it melted down it barely filled that little teacup up. Also break big chunks into smaller pieces so it will melt faster.

Then I put the glass in a pot and turned it on to boil. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous during this part. I was thinking the whole time, have I forgotten some law of physics or chemistry and this glass is going to blow up in my face at any second. I may have thrown on a pair of sunglasses just till it got a good boil going for a while and I felt pretty comfortable that all was well. Blame that on working for an eye dr. I guess that made me want to protect my eyes. But y'all I have seen stuff like metal and glass scrapped out of people's corneas and its not pretty!

After it was all melted I just poured it carefully into the teacup and let it harden. And voila great gift for grandma! All under $5 I might add, bam

3 years!

2012-01-05T20:55:00.001-05:00

We had a great anniversary this year. Last year.... well last year was eh not so great.

I like to think that last year's anniversary was indicative of the year to come and lessons to be learned about marriage.

Anniversary celebration breakdown:

Year 1: we went to Asheville for our anniversary it was fun to get away and we were still in that semi-blissful newlywed phase.

Year 2: we didn't do anything for our anniversary. terrible I know. I think we might have gone out to eat but I can't remember. what I DO remember though was getting in a HUGE fight about me wanting Adam to clean up the office, stupid I know. neither of us remembered to get cards and no gift or flowers were bought. Bad omens for sure. call the church police because we definitely dropped the ball on that one. Like I said indicative of the year to come. A few tears later it was ultimately a great reminder to us that marriage is intentional. These things are going to happen on their own and you have to work at it. I'm thankful that was the extent of our wake-up call.

Year 3: lesson learned from last year? check! We had a great time. We decided a long time ago not to do presents for our anniversary since it is so close to Christmas but I do like flowers, and he delivered! I also got him a card that basically said, "hey babe, thanks for putting up with me!" Because I am totally undeserving. I would've given me back by now I think.

We went to dinner at Vivace in Raleigh and it was delicious. It had a great ambiance, perfect for a romantic night! We will be returning there.

Don't you just love those lights?!

Then we went on to the melting pot for dessert. We haven't been to the Melting pot since we went to Prom together in 2002, wow! It was neat to return (to a different one that is) for our anniversary. And their dessert, oh man....

you know things are all lovey dovey until the dessert and chocolate are at stake and then there may or may not have been threats of stabbing with the fondue poker if the invisible line on the plate was crossed.

Don't worry, no one was harmed... badly during dessert. It was a great start to what has to be a better year.

To my smokin' hot husband I'm so glad you chose me. I can honestly say I love you more today than the day you married me and made me the luckiest girl.

He makes all things New

2011-12-31T18:49:00.000-05:00

Here we are at the end of the year finally...
I could tell you how the good thing about this year is that it is over or that I'm not sad to see it go, and hey, don't let the door hit you on the way out! But while this year has certainly not been without it's challenges I would like to focus on the good things that did happen because it is so very very easy to let those be overshadowed by the tough times that we are sometimes asked to walk through.

Here are some highlights and things that made this year memorable:

We got to see these two get hitched :) Which was a super fun wedding that we had all been looking forward to! It's been a joy to see these two begin their lives together. sweet sweet love.

We also got to go to the beach for our annual beach weekend with some of our dear college friends! It was a great time and full of memories for sure!

In May Adam got a new job that allowed us to be able to start the adoption process again. Woo HOO!

We were blessed to get to spend a week at the beach with each of our families. This is always such a great time and we look forward to it all year long

We said "see ya later" to these dear friends. We look forward to their return in 2012!

these

We celebrated our nephews 3 year old and 1 year old birthdays. We love them so much!

We also started a new tradition with my college roommates for labor day ever year. It was a sweet time of fellowship and catching up. Already looking forward to next year!

We celebrated with these friends at the news that they are expecting a baby boy in May 2012! And these friends at the referral of their baby boy coming home in 2012!

THE highlight of this year would definitely be getting on the waitlist finally!!!!! (cue Hallelujah chorus)

We are reallllllly looking forward to 2012 and know that it could be a year with some big changes, we are excited for the Lord to lead us in this next phase of life. While I'm not all that sad that 2011 is over I am looking forward to the things to come in 2012. After all, He makes all things new and we are grateful for this promise. Happy New Year to you all!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with those you love and that your days be filled with the hope and joy found only in Christ.

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

Galatians 4:4-5

and.......

a little christmas jingle from my favorite christmas commercial. no lie I get excited e.v.e.r.y. time it comes on

1 month!

2011-12-21T22:48:00.002-05:00

today we have officially been waiting 1 month. Honestly I have been anticipating getting this one month mark under our belt as we have finally reached the waitlist, so I think in my anticipation this month has gone by kind of slow. Yet I can't seem to find the time to finish my christmas shopping! We have just been at this for so long now I feel like we should be further along that we are I guess is the best way to describe it.

I'm not sure where all the weekends and weekdays have gone in December they just seem to go so quickly as I'm sure everyone feels. We didn't even get our house fully decorated this year, I know shame on me. We got a later start than usual on our christmas decorating and just never made it up from then on. Maybe next year....

We are SO very thankful to have one month behind us, but here's to hoping the next couple of months go by much faster!

One less!

2011-12-04T16:27:00.001-05:00

How fitting that on our 1 year anniversary of "officially" starting this process. I get a call from a dear friend that they got a referral for a sweet 8 week old baby boy!!! You can read more about it on their blog. It was just a good reminder that this wait will come to an end. This is extra special for me because as I have said before Will and Rebekah were our adoption mentors. Because of their willingness to be used by the Lord through our orphan care ministry at our church we were matched with them. We met with them for dinner one night while they answered our countless questions and we came home knowing this was for us now not later down the road and with God all things are possible. They showed us it was possible for a fairly newlywed couple, in seminary, with little extra money for an adoption, to actually happen. We stepped out on faith and watched the Lord work. We are grateful for their example and are excited to see their journey come to fruition with a beautiful baby boy that we can't wait to meet one day!! Now praying for a quick court date so they can go meet him! Praising God that there is one less orphan tonight!

video break Friday and one year waiting

2011-12-03T16:34:00.001-05:00

Once again I'm a day late and a dollar short on the whole video thing but it was sorta kinda on purpose, at least that is what I will blame it on :) You see today marks exactly one year since we sent in our first set of paperwork to Gladney, bittersweet for sure, don't think I was really ready for the flood of emotions this day would bring. This time last year Iwas thinking all optimistically that we could have a referral by this Christmas. Little did we know what was around the corner for us. Our waiting was just beginning and our faith was about to be tested. I won't be sad to see 2011 go that's for sure. But the Lord is good and I am thankful that he allowed us to be on the waitlist before we hit this one year mark even if it was just 12 days shy! Never did I ever dream that this time last year we would barely be on the waitlist one. whole. year. later. He has taught me much about waiting on him and trusting in him, and my faith has been stretched in new ways. For that I am thankful. He is good still even if I don't understand his ways. He has surely done great things for us.

I had mentioned a while back about this beautiful song I got to hear Bethany Dillon sing at a Shane&Shane concert. Last I heard she was going to release it before Christmas so we'll see, but for now we'll have to settle with this youtube version that someone recorded at one of the shows.

here are some of the lyrics I grabbed from the song, there could be a few holes but you get the gist

I’m waiting on you

You say you’re good to those who wait

My heart’s discouraged

So I come to you expectant

You say you’re good to those who wait

For today you know what I need to do

But you could do more in my waiting than in my doing I coulddo

So I won’t run anymore

I‘m waiting on you

A wretched man that I am

Free me from my distractions

You say you’re good to those who wait

Find me in the quiet

You say you’re good to those who wait

Now I know you’re good to those who wait

For today you know what I need to do

Oh my soul wait on the Lord

Keep your lamp filled with oil

Oh my soul be not deceived

Wait for him, don’t bequick to leave

Is this not your new favorite song or what?! So so beautiful, it almost reminds me of a psalm. I'm so glad the Lord gave her that song to share.

Happy Birthday Hubby

2011-11-28T00:00:00.000-05:00

Today my man is 27. I can hardly believe it. I tease him that he is old and has some gray hairs and he claims that he didn't start getting those gray hairs until after we got married which may or may not be true! Truthfully he is so young and we have so much life ahead of us that I can't wait to share together.

In honor of his birthday I would like to share 27 facts/reasons why I love my husband....

He has a freakish love for coffee, I think he would walk around with an intravenous drip if he could
He is so so so so so so so excited to be a daddy and I can't wait to see him become one
He loves the Lord and has followed the calling He placed on his life giving up his plans of becoming a lawyer and going to seminary instead.
He loves me so well. I really really don't deserve him
He loves books, we have lots of them, like 5 1/2 bookshelves worth and he is only 27... oh dear...
He is a good puppy daddy and loves the tuck
He is an apple snob and will never use anything different I'm sure of it
He likes to go to the movies
He doesn't mind going shopping which goes with I rarely have to drag him places he is willing to do things with me even if it isn't his preference
He'll never turn down a butterfinger
He is West Wing's number one fan he watches it over and over and over and over.... if Jed Bartlett was real he would've voted for him even though he is definitely elephant not donkey
He can't go to sleep in silence hence all the West Wing...
He is so gifted in the areas of ministry that he is so passionate about and I can't wait to see how God is going to use him
He makes dinner almost every night
He serves me so well. I'm super spoiled y'all, you have no idea. I'm so blessed
He killed it in seminary y'all amazing grades the whole time even while working, he poured everything into it and graduated on time with a phenomenal GPA.
He loves Jeeps. He's had 4 of them
Shoes are to women as watches are to Adam (SAT flashback anyone?)
He has been on a weightloss/fitness journey for over a year and has lost 45 pounds y'all! I am so so proud of him he has been so dedicated you have no idea
He has trusted the Lord during this whole adoption process and believed on my behalf multiple times when things seemed so dim
He did ~~the majority~~ all of our Dossier which I am super grateful for
I think he would eat Chinese food, Mexican, and Chic-fil-a every day if he could
He loves and respects me and does things for me around the house
He is a serious Georgia Bulldogs fan
He brings me my breakfast almost every morning so that I can get ready faster in the morning which = a little more sleep
He puts up with me which is a big job in and of itself!
He is my best friend

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY love I'm so glad you're mine and I hope I can spend my life making you as happy and feel as loved as you make me feel!

so blogger is doing something weird and the post scheduling thing is acting up grrrrrr his actual birthday is the 28th sorry babe!

video break Friday (on saturday..)

2011-11-26T08:56:00.001-05:00

I missed posting last week's video because my cousin was getting married and I was working my butt off helping with all kinds of decorations and luncheons and rehearsing etc etc etc. But we had a great time and it was a beautiful wedding!

So I will post 2 videos for this week! I know you're excited so get ready....

This is more for your listening pleasure than viewing pleasure. In honor of thanksgiving of course. You can bet my brother-in-law will sing this song on thanksgiving. Nothing like Adam Sandler to round out the holidays for ya!

Next is one of everyone's favorite commercials because it is just that awesome! And it happens to be a place that we spent quality time at Thursday night and into Friday morning.

That's right we are one of the crazies. We were out for a TV. We were prepared to get out there early but we weren't going to go out at like 5:00 or anything. Props to you if you did. We left the house at 8:45 all bundled up with our chairs and blankets in tow. We went to Best Buy because they had the best deal on TV's but we weren't the only ones that plan and considering some people started lining up at like 2:00 or earlier! so we abandoned that plan and went to plan B. Plan B was hhGregg. But once we got there and got settled we realized that they didn't have the TV we thought they had and abandoned that plan and moved to plan C which was Tarjaay. We got there at about 9:30. We didn't get the original TV we had picked out there but we did get a good one at a good price so I'll say it was worth it. The time went by quickly and it wasn't too cold for these Booneites. Although there were some people we saw lining up that were in flip flops I really wanted to be like, "why, just why?" "don't you know it is 36 degrees out here?" "and your choice of shoe is a frickin flip flop?!" "who does that?!" but I bit my tongue. I got up super early and shopped all day with my sisters, mom, aunt and friends. We had a great time and scored some good deals. I would say it was Black Friday success!

for all you friends fans out there. I definitely had one of these moments right before the doors opened! adam said, "and YOU don't be a baby! I said, "but I need a whistle!"

Yes, we are!!!!

2011-11-21T19:20:00.001-05:00

Didn't mom always say that nothing good could ever come from whining? Well... after my pity party post last time Adam's birth certificate came the very next morning! yay! So I guess she was wrong... this time anyways! So we got that on Thursday morning and then I went and picked up a piece of paper from the secretary of state's office that afternoon that we had to make some corrections on and get authenticated again.
Then thursday night we headed back to our hometown for my cousins wedding festivities in SC. So while I was doing wedding stuff on Friday Adam went and mailed all of our paperwork. Putting me on speaker phone while he was mailing the paperwork so I could feel like I was there wasn't exactly how I had imagined us sending our paperwork off but hey, what in this process has gone like I imagined? if you say not much, you would be right! So we FedExed our package off for next day delivery to get there on Monday.

and if you didn't catch that in the title the answer to the title of my last post is yes, we are!......

WE ARE NOW OFFICIALLY ON THE WAITLIST!!!!!!

That's right we got the word from our caseworker today! and we are thrilled! our caseworker has been reviewing our documents all along so once she had all of them in her hands and then sent it off we were declared waiting!

So what does this mean now? Well it means that we have completed our dossier (pronounced: dos-ee-ey; a collection or file of documents on the same subject, especially a complete file containing detailed information about a person or topic) we are referral ready. It's kind of hard to say exactly how long our wait will be. Most likely at least a year, potentially longer. So we won't be getting a child tomorrow or anything we still have a long wait ahead but we are thankful that we made it to where we have been working so hard to get.

We are so thankful for all of you who have been praying for us and been an encouragement to us while we were in the paperwork phase to get us to the waitlist. We are very grateful! But don't stop!!! We have a ways to go still and we would appreciate your continued support as we journey on. We know we have a long haul ahead but we know that

Silas you are so worth the wait...

Are we there yet?

2011-11-16T13:40:00.001-05:00

Woah! 2 posts in one day?! what is that?!

It's been a tough couple of weeks. We have been oh so so so close to getting on the waitlist as I have mentioned on here, but I feel we are still so far away. Today especially I'm struggling with the feeling that we are NEVER going to get there. You know what I mean? Like I just can't take anymore. Adam and I were talking about how we had heard people talk about how frustrating the paperchase process was but we never really understood until we were right smack dab in the middle of the hard.

In reality we have everything authenticated we are just waiting on ~~good ole~~ dumb ole Georgia to get it together so we can get Adam's birth certifciate authentication back. Georgia and I, we aren't friends right now. We could have driven to GA and got all of this done in like 1 day had we known all this would happen. Hindsight is 20/20 right?

The Lord has continually shown me durning this process that is not about timelines and what plans we set for ourselves but it is about his sovreignty. I am so so glad that I have him and that to trust in. I know that each little delay and stumble is getting us to our exact, perfect child for our family but it's hard to remember that right now. There is always tomorrow I guess... but today, today it is just hard.

Workin' at the 'dog' wash yeah!

2011-11-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

If you're now singing Carwash lyrics you would be on the right track. However I think they should go a little something like this:

(Workin' at the) dog wash.
Workin' at the dog wash yeah !
Come on and sing it with me dog wash.
Get with the feelin' y'all dog wash yeah !

So much cheese oh so much. Why? you may ask... Well we finally got to take Tucker to a local dog shop that has a self service dog wash. How cool is that? I have been wanting to do this for a while and just haven't had a good time to go. But we FINALLY made it there and we will definitely go back. It was only $15 bucks and they supply all types of shampoo, grooming tools, towels, a dryer, and they even clean up the mess when you're done. It was awesome. Especially with people like us with a big, hairy, shedding lab. We could NEVER wash him in our own bathtub because he would most definitely clog our drain and did once when he was littler, and that was the last time we did that.

He didn't really want to walk up the ramp to get in the tub so Adam had to pick him up and put him in there. He was less than thrilled, but soon stopped giving us the stink eye and warmed up.

Now on to getting dried. I think he was still a little mad at this point for subjecting him to this, pretty sure he cursed at me right here.

I forgot to take a picture of the official finished product. But it was something adorable like this. This was from our Christmas pictures last year. Isn't he a handsome devil?

Disclaimer: I realize I have a freakish love for my dog, but I'm not ashamed, he's a great dog and deserves lots of love :)

Happy 60th Dad!

2011-11-14T21:30:00.001-05:00

At the end of October we celebrated my Dad's 60th birthday party with a 50s themed birthday bash. It was my mom's idea to dress in 50s theme and it ended up being lots of fun.

These are my sisters. Fun fact: we all wore gloves with our costumes, unplanned! In case you are wondering, or can't tell, yes that is a wig I'm wearing.

'Papa' as he is called by the 2 littles getting some help opening presents!

Ivey trying to duck out of the picture haha, nice try

Tuck was confined during the party, with my parents dog Sam.

My parents and I. Who thinks my mom's wig is awesome?! She was a pink lady, and my dad was a "greaser."

And here I am with my sexy "mad man." He is rockin that skinny tie if I do say so myself!

It was a fun night celebrating my Dad who is the most wonderful man, truly. I know how lucky I am to have such an involved, caring, loving, and godly man for a Dad. He has sacrificed much for us over the years and I count the privilege of being his daughter a joy and honor. I hope he had a memorable 60th!

video break Friday

2011-11-11T14:49:00.001-05:00

NERD ALERT.

Or another title for this post would be, "Matt Lauer has the best job on TV." I love the Today show and I am insanely jealous of all the cool things that they get to do. I like to have it on in the background while I am getting ready for work. I like that it helps me know what's going on in the world and see hear some neat stories about people. Every 1-3 years Matt Lauer does a segment called "Where in the World is Matt Lauer." He goes to these amazing locations and reports live. This time one of the stops was The Jungfraujoch. I had never heard of this place and it looks absolutely beautiful! See for yourself:

Totally going on the Bucket List. Can you imagine how breathtaking that would be?! What a great God we serve whose majesties are displayed among creation!

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Psalm 19:1

Sooooo close

2011-11-06T21:14:00.004-05:00

Hey all! Quick update on the adoption front. We are waiting on one teeny, yet very important piece of paperwork from Georgia to come back. It has been over a week and nothin. Adam called to check on it and they said "it was being processed." Georgia is quickly becoming my not so favorite state, they need to step it up!!! I swear I'm gonna call everyday this week and they are going to get real tired of me! We're on a mission people and we are so very very close to that waitlist. We are have everything ready to go and that piece of paper will complete our dossier. Will you say a quick prayer for us that it will come this week?! we would appreciate it and hopefully we can announce at the end of this week that we are on the WAITLIST!!!!

video break Friday

2011-11-04T16:12:00.001-04:00

well nothing like a weekly post series to remind you that you haven't posted since that last week! yikes! I could blame it on a busy week but truthfully I'm just lazy. sometimes when I come home after a long day I don't want to do anything that has to have any sort of thought put into it, know what I mean?

So I promise that I won't always post videos that are the ones probably everybody and their brother is watching right now but this one was just fit for this week. We had a quiet Halloween because it rained around here so not many kids showed. That means.... more candy for us!! and we don't have to share with anybody just yet...

The last kid is AWESOME, hope you have a good laugh no matter what kind of day you're having :)

aren't parents mean?! I could totally see at least my big sister doing this to me as a kid! as my dad would say, "it builds character" ha

Video Break Friday

2011-10-28T09:00:00.000-04:00

I'm pretty sure that like all of you have seen this, but I like it, and even if you have seen it, it's worth watching again! Doesn't this just make you LOVE google? It's so sweet and gets me e.v.e.r.y. time!

Happy Friday :)

Heart attack on a stick

2011-10-25T21:43:00.000-04:00

Our annual trip to the NC state fair was last weekend. We didn't ride rides, and we didn't look at many exhibits. We went there to EAT! We semi knew our plan of attack from things we liked last year but there were also some new eats to be discovered this go around.

Adam's fried snickers below. I'm not so much for the friend candy bars and stuff, I know I think that is like a sin when speaking of the fair, but it just doesn't do it for me.

Yes we saw this advertised, and no we didn't get it...

And that would be another advertisement for fried Kool-Aid. There was actually a girl beside us in line that got it, she said it was good, but I think she was lying ha! And then roasted corn, which is a staple at the fair. It was super delicious.

Oh and that picture of me holding that chocolate triangle thing above is frozen chocolate dipped Cheesecake! OH MAN that was good. I will be getting it EVERY year from now on. It was huge though so I couldn't eat all of it, even with help from Adam and a couple of bites from Cristy. It was terrific and in fact my mouth is watering right now....

And yes that chocolate funny looking thing there is chocolate covered bacon.

Adam enjoying a fried oreo that one of our friends shared with him. He said those are on the list for next year.

This is our good friend Cristy who split the bacon with Adam. Check out their reaction below!

Until next year!

video break Friday

2011-10-21T17:53:00.000-04:00

So this has been something I have been thinking might be fun to do, kind of a Friday theme of sorts. I know I have mentioned my mother likes to give us "youtube" homework from time to time of all these funny videos that she likes to share with us. So I guess this is for you mom (even though I don't think she really reads my blog but oh well) haha! I will be sharing clips of things each week, might be a commercial like this week, a song, gotcha day video, part of a tv show, who knows. I think it will be fun, and hopefully entertaining. And hey even if you don't like it oh well, it's my blog and I'll blog what I want to, right?!

Also, fun fact: Adam and I are trying to learn Spanish. It is something he has been wanting to do and so I am joining in. I am really excited and I hope we do well, I think it will be neat to see all the doors that will be opened through that.

p.s. I know that "video" break Friday is probably a little outdated for the title because aren't videos technically something you put in a VCR? oh well call me old fashioned but I sure think it is shorter than cliprecordeddigitallythenuploadedtoaserverhostknownasyoutube break Friday. try to figure that one out eh?

Grant's 1st birthday

2011-10-20T20:52:00.000-04:00

I can't believe that it has been a year since our second nephew Grant was born. It really went by super fast. We had a great time celebrating his birthday with lots of family. My sis did a great job with all the decorations for his "construction" themed birthday party. Complete with dump trucks and dirt cake! My awesome husband is honing his photography skills so here are some of the pics he took at the party.

Jackson enjoying his roller coaster toy. He was quite entertaining through the whole party, and I think he definitely had more fun opening Grant's presents than he did.

My sisters :)

And my FAVORITE picture of the whole day:

Is that not the cutest?!!! He was hilarious he held his spoon like that almost the whole time he ate his dirt cake!

I have to say one of my favorite parts of Grant's birthday was when we all sang happy birthday to him and Jackson, who is almost 3 by the way, was with me while we were singing, and he sang happy birthday to his little brother so perfectly, so happily, and just as loud as everyone else. It was the sweetest thing to hear and just one of those special moments that I will hold dear. We love you Grant and are so thankful for you!

Free Fall Art

2011-10-17T20:54:00.001-04:00

I have been wanting to share this for a while but hadn't gotten around to it. If you are in love with Pinterest like I am you might have already seen these floating around there. And if you've never heard of or experienced Pinterest it is best said by a quote I saw on there

a reminder of the clothes I'll probably never buy,

decor ideas I'll probably never utilize,

recipes & crafts I'm too lazy or busy to make,

places I'll probably never go,

sayings I wasn't clever enough to start,

and of course the photos I wish I could take credit for,

but I'm way addicted, go figure!

Needless to say it's awesome and you should check it out!

They're super cute prints that you can upload to wal-mart and then frame yourself. I found wal-mart was 1) cheaper, 2) they do the matte version not glossy, 3) they're ready in an hour. Go to this website and follow her instructions. Note* make sure you right click on the picture to blow it up before you upload it so that it will upload the right dimensions, because I eh-hem did not do that of course, not me...

Waiting on the Lord

2011-10-09T22:12:00.000-04:00

I woke up Sunday morning and in my fog of sleep I reached over and grabbed my phone. It helps me wake up to get my brain going I guess, instead of focusing on how heavy my eyelids feel at the moment. I don't wake up easily, this is coming from the kid whose mom definitely squirted me with a water bottle a time or two when I was little to wake me up... true story... I may or may not be scarred from that and run from squirt bottles. Just kiddin mom if you're reading this I'm practically normal! Anyhow, I like to read the bible on my phone, ESV app baby! I check my e-mail and catch up on tweets. WELL this morning on twitter I saw that Shane and Shane were going to be in the area! I LOVE them and am so glad that I saw that! What was even cooler was that Bethany Dillon, one of the Shane's wife and also a christian singer was there too. Also this other band called Freely that I had never heard of. They were really good and I have to say after listening to a few clips of their album on iTunes they are way better live!

The Shanes --->

Bethany Dillon sang this song tonight that she just wrote and hasn't even released yet. It was about waiting on the Lord. And can I just tell you this spoke straight to me. One of the lines is, "the Lord can do more in my waiting than I do in my doing." More and more the Lord has just been teaching me to wait on him. We are in a strange season of our lives where we are ready to move on to what the Lord has for us next but we must stay here for now because of different reasons. Adam has finished seminary for almost a year now and I continue to work, and we both long to be in different roles. Don't get me wrong we're abundantly thankful for jobs especially after going through a season of unemployment that's not what this is about, but just desiring to be where we feel our hearts already are. And let me just tell you that it is eating at us, but we are determined not to let the enemy use this for himself but that it will be used for good!

Bethany --->

My friend Rebekah shared some verses on her blog this week that I have kept close by this week and say to myself over and over (so if you don't mind bekah I'm going to put them on my blog too! k thanks!). And let me just tell you she is in a hard season of waiting right now! Even though she is far away now, she and her husband are our adoption mentors and she always has such encouraging verses that speak to me. So thanks for being an encourager even when you're in a difficult season :)

Psalm 27:7- 8, 13-14

Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
You have said, "Seek my face."My heart says to you,
"Your face, LORD, do I seek."

I believe that I shall look uponthe goodness of the LORD
   in the land of the living!
Wait for the LORD;
   be strong, and let your heart take courage;
   wait for the LORD!

One of the ones I continue to repeat is, "I believe I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." He revealed to me that the land of the living is now! The goodness of the Lord is right now, right where I am in my life. It doesn't say, "I believe I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land that I will be living in." So I will fight to be 'present' and thankful for the goodness of the Lord now not just for things to come, and we will wait on you Lord, we will wait...

Fingerprints, check!

2011-10-02T16:47:00.003-04:00

We received our appointment letter from USCIS on September 20th yay! It said that our appointment date was October 14th, but we knew better, nice try USCIS! Because of our amazing adoption community around us I knew that we didn't have to wait till our appointment time and could head in early. We called and they said we don't have walk-in hours, huh? I contacted a fellow adoptive mom and she said take your letter with you, show up at 8, and act like you're supposed to be there, Haha! I love it! And you know what? she was right. We didn't say anything about our appointment being later and they seemed to not care because they definitely looked at our letter, A LOT.

No lie y'all this was the nicest government agency I have ever been to, oxymoron right? Not only was the building nice an modern but all of the people were super nice and very helpful, shocker I know! I was completely prepared for the DMV like experience that we all know and love. But we were out of there in probably like 20 minutes. It was great! So now we wait for our fingerprints to arrive at our house, could be anywhere between 1-6+ weeks, we have no idea, it seems to be all over the board as to the time frame. I have already prepared myself that we will likely have to do this again before our adoption is final because we are looking at a looooong wait and they will probably expire before it is complete. Better to get this sort of thing in your head now!

We found out too that we have to update our physicals :( They are only good for 2 years once your dossier is submitted and since we are already 1 year in they would only be good for 1 more year. Once we are on the wait list it will likely be a solid year before we get a referral, very likely longer. Our caseworker recommended we go ahead and update them so that we don't have to pay for it to be added to our dossier when it is in Ethiopia next year. Can I just tell you how much I'm looking forward to this.... Last year I was all gung-ho about them and I wasn't even nervous. I'm fine about it this year but it just kind of depressing because we got them done last year thinking we would be working through our paperwork and onto the wait list by spring. It is just a reminder of the somewhat painful year that we have been through and that we have been in this process for a year+ now.

On the bright side we were able to get a "quick" appointment at the same time again on the 12th, and then we'll be able to send in everything for authentication, and once we get our fingerprints back we send everything to Texas and then once they send it off we are on the wait list baby! BAM!

Can't wait for that post one day announcing we are on the wait list! What a sweet day of celebration that will be....

Thanks for reading :)

Yard Sale Success!

2011-09-29T22:16:00.003-04:00

Well it was a long weekend folks, but so worth it! We left Friday afternoon with our car loaded up with the stuff from our house to head to our hometown for our yard sale. Poor Tucker was crammed in the backseat, but he was a good sport.

After making a stop at my parents we got to the building that we were having it at that next morning. My AWESOME in-laws, brother-in-law and sister-in-law were there to help us unload and sort. We couldn't have done it without them and I certainly could not have kept my sanity with out my sis in law Courtney! So thank you thank you thank you to all our family members who helped in one way or another. all of you helped make this possible!

Let me just say that things were looking prettttty grim on Saturday morning. I should probably start by saying we stayed up till 1:00 am sorting everything and getting ready for the morning. We woke up at 5:00 am and got to the place about 5:45. We expected for the earlybird hardcore yardsalers to arrive by 6:00 EXCEPT that it was pouring rain! And it didn't stop until about 8:00. I was very discouraged I thought what are we going to do with all this stuff and we will be lucky to make $200.00.

But as you can see things cleared up! We were praying hard hard hard! We had a great location one of the busier intersections in the town, and it was definitely worth it to rent that spot because that was what got us so many people after a very late start for a yard sale. God is good and He is faithful to supply all our needs.

Just a few of the helpers, my mom, dad, and Adam's dad. We left the camera at Adam's parents during our fog of tiredness and I really wasn't thinking about taking pictures at the moment. I was surprised by how overwhelmed I felt and was very thankful Courtney was there to make lots of price decisions etc.

This is only some of the stuff, it wrapped around the other side of the building where there were some bigger items. Thank you to everyone who donated stuff we are so thankful for your generosity. I might have said this before but it reminds me so much of Acts 2 and how the church is to be to one another.

And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds

to all, as any had need. Acts 2:45

At the end of the day we were able to take home $1,210.16!! We are weeks away from the wait list people!! An update on that to come!

Awesome Personal Planner Giveaway!

2011-09-20T20:52:00.003-04:00

I have an iPhone and I ~~love~~ luuuuuurve it! In my opinion it is superior to all other phones, I never have problems with it and it has tons of amazing features that other phones just, well, lack. So if you're wondering no this is not a how-much-i-am-in-love-with-my-iPhone-post although I have been known to hold my phone against my face and embrace it while I whisper sweet nothings to it... but ANYWAYS.... the one thing that I just haven't/can't get used to is the calendar. I have tried to enter the 21st century and become all digitized and stuff with my calendar but it just doesn't work for me. I like to be able to see the big picture. All the events for the month at one time and then by each individual day. I like to be able to write in it and check things off my list.

When my friend Megan blogged about her planner I checked them out and was immediately in LOVE. Currently I'm using a dollar store "planner" and it just doesn't quite cut it. I say "planner" in air quotes because compared to these, well, these are like the Rolls Royce of planners while I'm currently driving a pinto. So when she announced she was doing a giveaway too well I was all over that and I am wishing on my lucky stars that I win.

So what are these wonderful-can't-live-without planners you're talking about? Why I am so glad you asked. They are Erin Condren life planners. Check out the video below that gives a little explanation. Then head on over to their website and start drooling over all the designs. And while you're trying to narrow it down, head over to Megan's blog to enter to win. Good luck!

Fall Favorites

2011-09-18T20:09:00.003-04:00

Does anyone else feel like fall is a lot of people's favorite time of the year? I think it's because everyone is ready for a break from the horrendous heat that southern summers bring. And for me I also get excited about starting to wear some different clothes instead of the same summer stuff all the time. Also it is just a season that brings so many wonderful sights and smells. I wanted so share some of my fall favorites/wishlist so far. This candle from Bath&Body Works smells amazing! I have a ~~phobia~~ thing about my house smelling bad so I love theses candles. This scent is so warm and everything perfectly "autumn"

Next up is wildly popular obviously but for me it is a new one. I tried a pumpkin spice latte last year and wasn't a huge fan. But this year I decided to try one again just to see, and lo and behold I think my tastebuds decided to wake up to the deliciousness that is a pumpkin spice latte. I think I could drink one everyday. There's a chance that I may be addicted and starting pumpkin spice anonymous pretty soon....

Ok someone else let me know if they have ever heard of this... So I was in the mood to make a fall "treat" and hubs when to the store for me to get some ingredients. Could NOT find pumpkin anywhere. He finally asked someone and they said that there has been a pumpkin shortage for a while now apparently and they only put pumpkin out at then end of october and november! what?!!! So alas my pumpkin "treat" must wait a little longer....

Don't those look delicious? Here is the recipe for whenever pumpkin comes back in "stock" I guess.

Next is this great fall decor and super easy to make, also found on Pinterest. Now where to find a giant letter....

Also love these and would love to make them

Those are just a few things I've spotted.loved.and wanted to share. Happy Fall!

Greenway Girls Getaway!

2011-09-12T21:06:00.001-04:00

oh man was I counting the days to Labor Day this year. We went to the mountains with all of my college roommates and their husbands/boyfriends. I was soooo looking forward to this because it has been a while since we have all been together. It was such a sweet time of fellowship and truly good for the soul.

We stayed in an awesome cabin that Anne did an amazing job of finding and putting all the details together! There was lots of laughter, talking, and just being in each others company. Oh and staring at this amazing view, ahhhhh...

On Sunday we spent part of the day at a park in Valle Crucis it was B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!

Yes we all bought the same sweater because it is amazingly comfortable and stylish if I do say so myself and they were having a sale, and who can pass up a good sale!

On our way out of town we stopped at Stick Boy for some delicious cinnamon rolls and a coffee for Adam. Our Monday plans were ruined by a torrential downpour so we ended up making a quick stop by Mast General store and then headed out of town.

Until next year..... since we have vowed to make this a Labor Day tradition to get together. Is it too early to start planning Greenway Girls Getaway 2012?!!!

Best sentence(s) so far this year!

2011-09-05T21:36:00.000-04:00

Congratulations, you are now Gladney approved and ready to begin the next steps of your adoption process. Completing your dossier and getting on the official waitlist to receive your referral are your next goals to accomplish.

WOO HOO! We got this e-mail before we went out of town on Friday and it was such a tremendous feeling to know that we are inching closer to the waitlist! Our agency has sent our stuff on to USCIS and we should be getting a letter soon which will allow us to go get fingerprints done which is basically our last stop before the waitlist! We have been working on our dossier all along so there is really not much left to do once our fingerprints are done!

If you guys wouldn't mind saying a quick prayer for us, we have had a REALLY hard time with our post office. There have been checks we have never received, payments we've made that have never gotten there, and they even lost my Christmas present necklace this past year, which thankfully we got another and the seller filed an insurance claim. But still, it is very unsettling to know we are waiting on this VERY important piece of paper and that something could happen to it :(

Here's to hoping we get our fingerprints back in record time!!!

A beautiful Adoption Story

2011-09-01T20:09:00.000-04:00

I wanted to share this amazing adoption story from a family in our church, Danny also happens to be Adam's former boss. I love adoption stories because it is always amazing to see how the Lord orchestrates everything, further proving that He will care for his orphans and he does set the lonely in families (ps68:6). Not only is it a beautiful adoption story but a beautiful display of the gospel and what Jesus has done for us. So check out Danny's blog for the beginning of Haven's story. And she is a cutie!!!

Adoptive Mom's retreat

2011-08-30T22:37:00.000-04:00

I wanted to share about an upcoming retreat for Adoptive mom's called Created for Care, this retreat is not just for moms it also includes you if you are thinking about adoption or just want to come along and be supportive of a friend or relative that is adopting. I did not go last year but enjoyed the recording of all the sessions given to me by my friend and also adoption mentor Rebekah! I like to brag that they are our adoption mentor couple because they are awesome even though they have moved away now:( AND they are soooooo close to getting a referral I can hardly stand it! Anyhow... I am super excited to go this retreat this year and I think you should think about going too! I am so excited about what the Lord will teach me and how I will grow in preparation for our little guy to get here one day.

If you're interested go check out the website, read Rebekah's blog about her experience last year and sign up THIS THURSDAY so not much time to think about it, acutally just don't think about it go and sign up now!

and p.s. last year it filled up within the first 48 hours so jump on it!

We want yo junk

2011-08-29T18:44:00.000-04:00

That's right people, one's mans trash is another man's treasure. Or one man's trash is another man's money to help them adopt a baby from Ethiopia. We are having a yard sale in our hometown on September 24 to raise money for our adoption. So from now until then we are officially collecting stuff to sell. So if you are near us then we will come pick up stuff from you or if you are near our hometown (near Charlotte) then we can arrange something. I hate to be picky and a pain but if you are near us here we would prefer not to take furniture since we are going to have to haul this stuff down to Charlotte area. BUT if you are in Charlotte area then we will take furniture

So send us an e-mail mooreadoption (at) gmail (dot) com if you have something you want to donate!

This is a great way for you to help us out if you have thought about it but unsure of how to go about it. Thanks in advance!

I heart ikea

2011-08-22T20:03:00.001-04:00

This weekend while we were visiting our families and attending a wedding, we decided to trek on over to ikea before the wedding. and let me tell you, saturday... NOT the day to go. We have only been once before and it was a monday, much better day! To say it was packed would be an understatement. I had my eye on the Hemnes shoe cabinet. I had already been searching this bad boy out. And I felt like I kept seeing it everywhere, in magazines, on pinterest, etc. so I took it as a sign and decided it had to be mine all mine!

I did have a rational for it and here I plead my case: Our carpets upstairs are really bad, like embarrassing bad. I have never liked the idea of wearing shoes where your bare feet also are especially places like the bathroom and bedroom. But our carpet is horrendous so who cares right? Well we are getting it cleaned next month and now is our chance to start fresh. I am hoping that cleaning them does wonders and it will look sparkling clean, but we'll see, one can hope.

We started building it last night when we got back, even though it was late, I couldn't stand it, it's like a new toy ya know?! I finished it today while Adam was at work and then he helped me secure it to the wall.

I love it and am super excited that it will help us keep our carpets cleaner! Also bonus part is now I can get some shoes out of my closet where there is currently not enough space for all mine and Adam's shoes.

Now I just need some nick-naks and pictures to go over it!

So what are some of your ikea favs? I would love to hear 'em!

Truthful Tuesday

2011-08-16T19:35:00.000-04:00

Price of 2 Harry Potter Tickets: $19.50

Hearing someone beside us quote one of the lines during the movie and knowing we were not alone in seeing it, yes I say, a second time: Priceless

Not a "fan"

2011-08-09T21:57:00.000-04:00

I would like to introduce you to our fan:

Flashback to the 1980s anyone? Sad looking isn't it? and oh the scroll....

He was a little outdated ok a LOT outdated. It has just been one of those things that hasn't been high on our list. We have been re-doing our bedroom. We recently sold all of our bedroom furniture and are currently in the very slow process of re-doing pieces we have found on craigslist. I know it will be worth it in the end but it sure is hard work!

That fan also has 1 tiny little light bulb and 4 blades for our entire room so it can get kind of dark and hot on occasion.

Yes that is dust on Adam's head and face, he has gone a little gray since he married me but not that much! Hazards of being my husband...

Here is the new fan, well the first one anyways. Here is the new Hampton Bay Wellston fan from Home Depot, or "Welly" as I affectionately call him. We scoped out blue and orange for our fan but in the end orange had the style and size we were looking for. We opened the box to this guy and started getting it ready. And no lie 2 of the screws wouldn't come unscrewed and stripped very easily with a hand screw driver since you can't really use an electric one with all the tight spaces. So we had to take that one back and got a new one. one for blue, and zero for orange.

It was not such a simple process. We have installed a ceiling fan before and it was NOWHERE near this hard. All the wiring would not so easily fit and things weren't lining up so great, insert "they just don't make things like they used ta" quote from multiple members of my family. Adam went back to home depot to see about an additional part and they left him standing there for 15 minutes never coming back to help him. two for blue, and zero for orange. I'll make a long story short but after several hours of pulling and tugging and rewiring etc. Welly was finally ~~resting~~ forced in his new home.

Isn't he handsome?

We are very happy with the new look and glad to have another update in our house.

Well some of us are happy, and some of us that did all the work are sweaty and tired with sore arms... tehehe thanks honey wink :)

For the kid in you

2011-08-02T20:33:00.000-04:00

DID ANYONE ELSE'S DAY JUST GET BETTER?!

That cracks me up. Not the best quality but you get the idea. I tell ya cartoons have come a long way!

on to USCIS

2011-07-27T22:16:00.000-04:00

We are sending in the rest of our supporting documents tomorrow so that Gladney can send our homestudy etc. to USCIS which is Immigration services. This is the last big thing that we will need to complete our dossier and be on the wait list! Once we get our appointment time from USCIS we can then go to the walk-in hours at the local agency here. The thing about this is, is that it can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 8 Weeks. Of course I am desperately praying as I know every other adoptive parent who has gone through this that we are in fact on the shorter end of the wait so that we can get to the wait list. So pray for:

The process to go quickly that we will receive our letter and fingerprints back quickly
That however long it takes we will remember the Lord's sovereignty over all and be patient

Also in case you haven't already heard about the crisis in the Horn of Africa right now. From Samaritan's Purse website:

The most devastating drought to hit the Horn of Africa in 60 years has created a

critical food shortage that is threatening the lives of 11 million people.

A recent report warns that more than 500,000 children are at risk of imminent death.

The United Nations has described the crisis as "the world's worst humanitarian disaster."

You can use that link to go directly to their page to donate. Please consider donating to a trusted organization to help these people who are fighting to survive. Stalin is not often my main man to quote but he got this right, "The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic." I pray that the world does not let that statistic wash over them as they hear the nightly news but are moved to act.

It's a baby shower!

2011-07-18T21:58:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I got to host a shower for one of my dear friends in our small group. I have had the privilege of getting to know Laura Ashley over the past year and am so thankful that the Lord put us together during this season of life!

confession: I can't bring myself to take these down from my mantle they are just soooo cute!

Her name in a flag banner I made, Holland Grace. Isn't that just so stinkin beautiful! I love it!

A thank you card station for people to self address an envelope. I had heard this idea at showers before and I think it is an awesome way to take some pressure off the recipient. It is easy to get bogged down with thank you notes. Especially because usually when you have a shower of some sort it is in the midst of a busy life changing time in your life when you don't have a ton of extra time to write a billion and million notes! I am thankful for gifts when I get them don't get me wrong but I HATE HATE HATE writing thank you notes. Who came up with that ~~garbage~~ anyways? Isn't saying thank you enough!? I always feel so much pressure to get them out quickly then I feel this tremendous guilt for not doing it fast enough and end up procrastinating, then comes more guilt more pressure.... as you can see a dirty vicious cycle! annnnnnd stepping of soap box now...

I made some tissue paper pom poms following this tutorial. Then I added some rain drops because it was a "shower" get it? ha.ha. One of the girls that helped out mentioned this idea and then I got some inspiration from pinterest!

strawberry cupcakes yum! I forgot to take a picture of the rest of the food :( It was all quite declious!

Lemon drop party favors, says thanks for "dropping" by. Another pinterest find.

Some of the girls putting their thumbprint on a tree Laura Ashley made for Hollands room. She is taking it to all of her showers. How neat!

All the ladies. We had a great time and Laura Ashley got lots of great stuff as they prepare for Holland Grace to make her appearance soon! We can't wait to meet you little one!

Better After

2011-07-15T22:46:00.001-04:00

As a tribute to one of my favorite blogs Better After, I thought I would post some better after projects that I have been up to lately. If you've never checked out Better After I highly recommend it. A great place to get inspiration and how to take drab to fab.

First is this old TV cabinet that was given to us by Adam's parents. It has been in our living room by the stairs for a while and collecting junk. I have been itching to give it a face lift.

Before:

After:

Cabinet: Free
Big Basket: $17.00 at Michaels
2 Cans of Spray Paint: $8.00
Total: about $25.00
Definitely cheaper than buying one brand new, even somewhere like ikea.

Next up an easy project that adds a special touch to any gathering or party.

Before:

After:

I spray painted the outside with the leftover spray paint from the cabinet and I already had the chalkboard paint.

Hideous frame from Goodwill: $1.00
Chalkboard paint: already had
Total: $1.00

Look for that frame in an upcoming baby shower that I'm hosting!

Lastly was not a major DIY project but I'm still super excited about them. Our couch pillows are from when we first got married I had bought them and even though they were a little over sized for the couch I kept them anyways. But it was time for them to retire....

Before:

See that big hole? yeah real pretty...

A little off scale compared to the couch but they worked, and were super comfortable.

After:

I got those green pillows from west elm and I luuuuurve them. (shout out for my bff sara since she has declared that the word of the month in honor of our favorite blog YHL another fabulous design blog that I highly recommend. We talk about John&Sherry as if we know them!)

I had seen these pillows on West Elm before and they were on clearance. I decided not to get them right then but I still daydreamed occasionally about skipping through a field of daises while swinging the pillow around in the air in a full on love affair. BUT THEN Sherry posted about these SAME pillows that she purchased on YHL and said that they were now free shipping, so I batted my eyelashes a little at hubs and he caved so they were mine all mine! I got them today and oh.my.gosh. they were even more beautiful than I had imagined!

They were just pillow covers, so reusing what I already had I cut the guts out of the pillow that had a hole in it and stuffed away.

my only regret.... I wish I would have got more....

Independence Day

2011-07-08T18:18:00.001-04:00

....We are fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: "We will not go quietly into the night!" We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!...

Oh wait you mean Independence Day isn't about prevailing against alien habitation?! Oh my, great movie, but what has our culture come to! I saw a couple of references to this on fourth of July and it was quite hilarious to me.

All kidding aside I am very grateful for this great country that we live in where we are free to live and worship as we please. While celebrating though we should be mindful that others around the world do not live with this kind of hope.

We were fortunate to head back to our hometown for our July 4th celebration. I love July 4th and fireworks are my favorite. The YMCA does it right with music, food, and of course a fireworks show at the end of the night. We have gone the past couple of years and it is a great tradition now. Our home church always helps out in some way so it is neat to see the whole community involved. There was about 20,000 people there! We hope to be back next year! Hope everyone enjoyed their 4th!

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

summer time loves

2011-06-29T19:29:00.000-04:00

When summertime rolls around there are always certain things that I love that just help make the sweetness of the season that much better. Some must haves for the summer or things I am loving right now are:

Secret Coco Butter Kiss

This is my must have deodorant every summer season. Strange?.... maybe....but the fresh coco butter smell makes me think of the beach when I put it on mmmmm

Next up is this nifty little product I came across recently:

Xen Tan

I was in a wedding at the end of May and wasn't quite looking as tan as I had hoped, which is a usual occurrence for a blonde hair brown eyed fair skinded gal like myself so nothing new BUT I had heard about this stuff on E News while at the beach with some friends and thought I would give it a whirl. I was amazed! It was like a DIY spray tan that you can use over and over again for virtually the price of one spray tan. Left a natural looking tan without the odor of usual self-tanning products. It lasted several days and I have continued to use it on an off since then. You can find it at Ulta. Take a 20% off coupon with you though it will save you some $$$$$!

Island Margarita Wallflowers from Bath&Body Works

I love this scent! It is so fresh and fruity smelling and is currently plugged into my wall downstairs. Anyone else had one of the wallflower units break on you? Just recently mine went out when I realized it had been a while and the bulb was still full. Changed it with another and it started working fine. I was a little bummed though I feel like the adapter didn't last that long :( anywho I have this fear that I can't smell my house if it stinks, anyone with me?! ya know how you get immune to your own house smell? so I try to always have one of these or a candle lit if we're expecting company. If anyone would like to donate a Island Margarita candle it would be greatly appreciated and my address is.... ha ha just kidding just kidding

Lighting Bugs

Or Fireflies as some people call them. I have so many wonderful memories chasing Lighting Bugs, as we call them, in my grandmas front yard when I was a kid and they are always a true sign of summer, I am looking for an artsy picture of them for our home so if anyone comes across one send the link my way!

Lastly.......

Beach vacays with the fam. This is currently our view while we are enjoying some time with Adam's family this week. We have a house sitter this week and thankful that Tucker is in good hands but I sure am missing this face:

Potter Time!

2011-06-16T20:05:00.000-04:00

This is my favorite trailer so far for the next and final Harry Potter movie, tear ;( It comes out one month from yesterday woo hoo!

It's true, we are Potter fans around here, no shame. We went to see it last time at the IMAX with some friends and will defintely be going back to the IMAX it was an awesome way to see it! Just a little fyi, if you are thinking about going just know that you have to buy tickets online and well in advance. It was funny/sad to see people walking up to the ticket window and try to buy tickets for that nights showing, sorry pal go home buy your tickets online and come back in a couple of weeks because that's the next available showtime. Needless to say we are looking forward to it and will be buying tickets online!

Question: if Twilight Fans are twihards, do you think Potter fans could be pottheads? food for thought...

Ethiopian Dining

2011-06-14T13:42:00.000-04:00

This past weekend we went with some friends, fellow adoptive parents, and mentor couple from the Summit Orphan Care group to an Ethiopian Restaurant in Raleigh. I had heard about some of the food but didn't really know what to expect. The very nice waitress helped us out and everyone enjoyed what they got.

The bread looking stuff you see there is called Injera. It is a spongy looking bread, kind of pancake like consistency that you tear apart and use to pick up your food with as there are no utensils. It was all very good and I would definitely go back.

I kind of wish that I took a picture of what the restaurant looked like, it certainly looked like you just walked into Africa. If we can find some of that kind of food when it is time for us to go to Ethiopia I think we'll be just fine!

Introducing...!!!!

2011-06-10T13:53:00.000-04:00

Adam's new brother and sister! And my new sister-in-law and brother-in-law. Yep you read that right! They are coming home and we are thrilled. Now for a little backstory:

Adam's parents heard about these two little guys in the fall last year. They are distant family members and needed a home. I will not share details as they are not mine to share. But the Lord's timing is truly perfect. This all happened right after Adam and I had begun our adoption process. We gave Adam's parents a copy of Adopted for Life, if you haven't read it click on that link and buy it now! Anyhow they read it quickly and around the same time is when they heard about J & J. I believe the Lord was preparing their hearts for what was in store.

It is has been a tough road for them but finally they are coming to their forever home! Their rooms are ready and they have no idea what kind of life is in store for them. They are so lucky to have Adam's parents as their parents now.

You can pray for them:

As they transition to a new home
For healing as they let go of things in the past
For Adam's parents as they teach them a whole new way of life
That J & J will love the Lord and come to know him at an early age

You are the helper of the fatherless. LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear, To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, That the man of the earth may oppress no more.

Psalms 10:14,17-18

Homestudy, check!

2011-06-07T21:51:00.000-04:00

Today marks the completion of our homestudy! We did our interview parts this past Friday and she did the walk through today. The Lord was good to us and allowed us to have an awesome social worker! We are so excited to have this portion of our paperwork completed! If you remember this was the part that we got to and were stalled at for several months due to job changes. I'm not going to lie while we were still rejoicing that others were moving along in the process it was hard to feel "left behind." We definitely felt an ache in our hearts as we longed to move on but circumstances held us where we were.

We are thankful for the Lord's provision, His timing, and allowing us to move on with this process. Adam has been diligent in working our our paperwork when he gets home from work since he is just working half days this week. He has been creating us a "game plan" as I like to say, for finishing this paperwork up! We still have many more things to do, although some of the big hurdles we have crossed. We know there could be more up ahead but we are praying for a quick and smooth completion.

And if I could just brag on my husband for a minute (cause it's my blog and I'll blog what I want to) he is one proud dad-to-be! He has really been tackling most of this paperwork for us, which is fine by me. You take this one babe and if the day comes to birth biological children (as long as we are able to that is) I'll work on that one. Teamwork ya know! He loves to tell people about our adoption story and never passes up the opportunity to tell how we are anxiously awaiting our son. He is going to be the best Dad and I can't wait to see them together one day. what a sweet day that will be.

We have come through a somewhat difficult time for us and our faith was tested and tried. I'm not sure if I passed, as I feel that I failed miserably in some ways but I am glad that the clouds seem to have lifted if not for just a moment. It is easy to praise the Lord in good times but I hope that we still brought him praise and glory in the difficult days as well. But right now we are rejoicing to be moving along and hope to finish the rest of our paperwork in record time!

~to God be the glory

As they make music they will sing,
“All my fountains are in you.”

psalm 87:7

#daviscaulderweddingextravaganza! (in pictures this time)

2011-06-05T21:24:00.001-04:00

The day finally came. It was long anticipated, very much planned, and hoped for. And then it was over in a flash, as all wedding days seem to go, too fast. Sara was one of my roommates in college and one of my dear friends. We are kindred spirits in that we think about things the same and are just on the same page, if you know what I mean by that. I love her dearly and am so blessed to call her friend. I was so very excited to stand by her on her wedding day as she wed her beloved Todd. And if two people were to ever go together it is them! They are so fun and I have no doubt their lives will be full of adventures. Here is the video Todd made Sara for their rehearsal dinner. So sweet!

Also if you didn't see their engagement video, that you saw a clip of in their video go check it out. Todd's brother Matt at Lifestage Films made it and you can check it out here. And I CAN'T WAIT to see their wedding video, Todd's bother is very talented and I have no doubt it will be amazing!

This picture is quite funny. Looks like Sara was being a bridezilla at the rehearsal making sure we were all in our places. I can assure she was NOT, but a good capture by my hubby!

This is right before she was about to get her hair and makeup done

Right before the ceremony!

Aren't those dresses amazing! I loved them!

First dance as husband and wife :) You should have seen the way Todd looked at her, so sweet and beautiful.

The amazing car that they left in!

Us as the end of the night. We were a little sweaty by this point, we were dancing the night away, and the air was not doing a good job in the reception place, but that didn't stop us. We had so much fun!

Also they had the neatest thing. Sara used to work for a photobooth company for a little while and absolutely wanted to have one at her wedding. It was the coolest idea! It prints out 2 copies, one for you the guest and the other to go in a book for the bride & groom, and you can write a message on it, like a scrapbook. Here is the website where you can see the photostrips from the wedding!

No go on over to The Davis Daily and congratulate the newly weds!!!

p.s. they went on the same honeymoon we did and I was insanely jealous the whole week, knowing exactly which port they were in and just how much fun they were having. but i'm happy for them ya know whatever blah blah blah (love you! winkwink)

update on current wait times

2011-05-31T21:29:00.000-04:00

With Gladney we have monthly conference calls that update us on different issues in Ethiopia, changes in policies, current wait times, etc. Things are still kind of shifty over there right now. They are somewhat backlogged from the whole slowdown thing and from some changeovers that were happening in the MOWCYA. I have heard that they suspect it could continue through the rainy season June-September (someone correct me if I'm wrong) and then hopefully it will get cleared up but there are certainly no guarantees.

So right now we are looking at 13.5 months or so till referral and then 4-5 months for a court date. Yikes. But who knows, next month it could be completely different, this is the ebb and flow of adoption. Adam and I are trying not get wrapped up in time lines and to kind of expect 2 years minimum at this point.

We are praying for the sake of the children of Ethiopia that the time lines will not stay this way, NOT because we want a child in our time frame, but because the longer the wait times, the longer these children live in institutions. While the Gladney care center is amazing it is certainly no substitution for a family, and there are government run orphanages that are not that great that children are in.

Please join us in praying for the government in Ethiopia, and the children there as they wait and hope for moms and dads to love them

randomness and GREAT NEWS!

2011-05-25T22:18:00.000-04:00

It is that time of the year when everything starts picking up. Weddings to attend, family get togethers, time with friends, and just the excitement that summer brings. Everyone is on the go, enjoying the time off from real world and warmer weather begins to beckon you outdoors. Hopefully my blogs won't be few and far between, I'll try to be better. So just some random schmaterings if you will from our life the past couple of days/weeks. And some great news at the end! Save the best for last!

Adam and I went to my long awatied Chris Botti concert. He is a wonderful jazz trumpet player. I first ~~fell in love~~ heard him several years ago at a Josh Groban concert. I got to go to his concert last year when he was at the Carolina Theater. This year he was at DPAC with the NC symphony orchestra. It added an entirely new element and it was wonderful! Here is a video from when he played with the Boston Pops

Also does anyone else besides me love this commercial?

I have to say that Panera's Frozen strawberry lemonade is way better. But this one isn't half bad.

We're gearing up this weekend for lots of fun and festivities for the upcoming nuptials between these two! Can't freakin wait! I am so excited to be apart of their special day and I can't wait till they finally get to get married!

Also I am super excited for So You Think You Can Dance to come back on. If you don't watch this show it is a great one to watch during the summer! so fun. And shhhhh don't tell anyone but Adam doesn't mind watching it, he even likes some of the dances! Here is one of the dances from last year.

Oh yeah and WE ARE BACK INTO ADOPTION ACTION! Adam accepted a position at Bank of America this past week. It is part time so he will continue with Docent Research that he is currently working for, it is a foot in the door, and we'll see where it takes us. But coolest part is that he is eligible for benefits and in that is Adoption Assistance! So we could be eligible for that, yes!!! We have already contacted our caseworker and are hoping to get our homestudy scheduled soon! Thanks for your prayers and support during this trying time. We know this is only one small bump in the road of this adoption journey.

Annual Beach Weekend!

2011-05-15T10:06:00.000-04:00

These are dear friends, friends that you feel completely comfortable with. You can talk about anything with and even in silence it isn't awkward. Even if it has been a while since we have seen each other you can pick up where you left off like there was no time lost. We are blessed to have friends such as these and we are thankful.

For the past 2 years on Memorial Day weekend several of our close friends have gone on a camping trip. This year 2 out of the 5 couples have weddings that weekend. So we moved it up to a weekend that worked for everyone. We changed it up a little and went back to Rachel's family friends beach house that we went to last fall. It is amazing!

This year was a little bittersweet knowing that several couples are going to be leaving soon for different places. Tyler and Erin are going to India for 3 years. Chad and Christy are also headed to India for a little over a year. And more changes in the future are on the way. We are sad that this is our last trip all together for a while. We have vowed to make this an annual thing and are looking forward to the next trip already!

Most everyone got there on Thursday morning or night. But because of my awesome mouth and all the fun surgeries I've had to have I didn't have any extra time off to go down Thursday :( We got there on Friday afternoon. Thankfully though my mood was lifted and I was able to get off a lot earlier than originally planned and we got there in plenty of time for dinner! We spent lots of time on the beach and just hanging out. We ate at Provision Company 2 times this trip because yes, it is THAT GOOD! It all too soon came to an end and we headed out on Sunday. Check out Christy's blog for some more great pictures!

Summit Easter

2011-05-01T22:10:00.000-04:00

We went to our home church this past Easter for the first time in several years. It was nice to be at home with our families but we were sad to miss the Easter celebration with our Summit family. God is doing some incredible things there and we are so thankful to be apart of it during this season of our lives. Here is a recap from the weekend. The song, It is Finished, is by one of our worship leaders Matt Papa.

Summit Church Easter Experience from The Summit Church on Vimeo.

holy ikea batman

2011-04-28T21:53:00.000-04:00

Oh ikea, where have you been all my life......

When we were home this past weekend for Easter we FINALLY made it to ikea. I have heard great things and wanted to check it out for myself. It did not disappoint my friends. It is a little overwhelming when you first walk in and I think it was obvious that I was a newbie. Hopefully on my next trip I will seem more experienced. In case you were wondering there are 2 floors to look through. And just when you think you're walking in circles, you end up somewhere that you haven't seen before. We were there and hour and a half and that was nowhere NEAR enough time! I can't wait to go back. I have so many ideas and SO much stuff that I want of course!

We stumbled upon this room, I rounded the corner first and saw it and was waiting for the gasp (if you don't know my hubby, he ~~is obsessed~~ loooooves books and this is like his dream room, we currently have one room filled with bookshelves but no where near this cool) sure enough as soon as he saw it he was smitten. So maybe this is in our future?....

I convinced Adam that we needed to bring this home that day, instead of playing it safe and going home and measuring first then waiting for a return trip, I just hoped that it would fit. I was right! I love it when that happens! So now this has made a home in our bathroom, and once it is officially mounted on the wall, the decorating can commence!

I am already planning my return trip.... better start saving! Who is with me!?

Photography Fundraiser

2011-04-25T22:11:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the few and far between blogs lately. I am hoping to do better now that things have calmed down. We have been out of town some and I have also had another mouth surgery that took a lot more out of me than I was expecting. Adam took excellent care of me but we are very glad to have life back to normal now for a while. We have an exciting May coming up and are looking forward to lots of fun times!

Before all of this transpired one of my sister's sweet friends Krista, did a fundraiser for us on her vacation to here from CA. She had several sessions and gave us a portion of the proceeds from each one. This was such a tremendous act of generosity and we are SO grateful for her kindness. It was so special to have pictures focused on our adoption and Silas coming into our family one day. Here are some from our session:

You can be pretty sure that one of these will be making it's appearance in our header soon! Thanks so much Krista, we love the pictures!

a journey

2011-04-10T20:26:00.000-04:00

My good friend Rebekah gave me a CD from the Created for Care adoption retreat she went to. It has been such a blessing to me to get to listen and learn so many things from this CD. I really believe that God has used this to change my heart in some areas and I am thankful. One line on the CD has stuck with me. Someone said that you have to think about adoption as a journey not a process. This has helped me to try and remember to look at our adoption as a journey and not to get caught up in timelines and dates and who is ahead of us etc.

Ever since "our" timeline was unexpectedly changed I have begun to think about it differently. I know that all of the delays will get us to the child that the Lord has chosen for us and that when we do meet him, all of the obstacles will be forgotten, however long that may be.

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Hebrews 11:1

Sifting

2011-03-31T22:03:00.000-04:00

There is much to say about what we are experiencing right now. The best way to say it is something else. We have basically opened our lives up through this blog documenting our journey through marriage and now through adoption. I don't think it is fair or right to paint a fake picture that everything is great and grand all the time when sometimes you have to go through hard stuff in life. The vast majority of the time we are blessed because everything is that way, but life is not without trials. So here we are.

I don't want to be misunderstood so let me start by saying that we are extremely blessed and I try not to forget that for one second. I could go on and on about the blessings Christ as poured out in our lives. Most of all the grace and mercy that has been given to us by our Heavenly Father through the death of his son Jesus that gave us salvation. We've got it pretty good all things considered, but sometimes the Holy Spirit allows us to be sifted. I am going through Beth Moore's study on Believing God. She talks about how God will never give Satan permission to sift us like wheat if we don't have anything that needs sifting. And let me tell you I know I got some stuff that needs siftin, and some stuff I didn't know!

Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. Luke 22:31-32

Anyone who has been called to adoption can probably tell you that it is a wonderful journey where you see the Lord's hand so clearly but they might also tell you that it is war. War between you and the enemy. You see adoption is such a beautiful picture of Christ and what he has done for us. He has adopted us as sons and daughters into his kingdom, that we might become heirs with Christ. As for Satan, well he HATES this. Anything that is good and a picture of God's love for us he wants to destroy. But God is bigger, and he WILL care for his orphans, all while teaching us along the way.

Other adoptive families could probably tell you of stories where things have happened like: surprise medical bills, lost jobs, broken appliances, car trouble, etc. Anything he can throw in the way that might deter you from your calling.

You might have noticed that my posting has been a little less frequent lately, without much info about where we are in the process. The truth is the week we were about to schedule our homestudy which is our next big step, we found out that Adam's job at our church was ending. The jist of it is, there is some re-structuring going on and his position is no longer necessary, just a casualty of the change.

The Lord has been teaching us me much during this time and sifting things from me that need to go. I know, I know, I know all of this is for his plan and it is being perfectly orchestrated around me to put our Silas in our family at the right time, and to get us where he wants us to be that will serve him well. Uncertainty is just hard, Lord I believe, help my unbelief.

Thanks for following along, supporting us, and hopefully we'll have good news to share soon!

Good news!

2011-03-24T17:33:00.000-04:00

Quick update. We got an e-mail from our agency explaining things a little bit further. They told us that they have confirmed information that MOWA (minstry of women's affiars-the people who process adoption cases) has been issuing 40 opinions a day now. Which is pretty much back to normal. So as of now the drastic reduction is not happening! WOO HOO! This is a huge weight lifted off us and we are so grateful that things seem to be going smoother over there now. It looks like they have had some changeover in staff and there is a new director as well that is supposed to be really good.

We know that adoption is not without bumps in the road and the Lord has been teaching us lots during this time as we rely on Him and His sovereignty. We are most of all thankful that these children that are so vulnerable will have the opportunity to be adopted in a timely manner. Praising God!

Comic Relief

2011-03-13T20:52:00.002-04:00

so my parents are infamous for giving us (my sisters and I) "youtube homework." they find funny videos and tell us that we HAVE to watch them. i have to hand it to them, most of what they "assign us" is funny... most. this one is quite unique, you may have already seen it, but i thought i would share this with you because the technology is just cool c'mon. and in this house we, well adam, are apple snobs. currently i am typing this on an a macbook, while texting on my iphone, while my husband is playing on his ipad/iphone simultaneously. it is a disease... don't judge all of these things -1 were gifts!

afterwards my mom is talking about how she wants and ipad for mothers day. my dad says, "why do you need an ipad when you have a mac already?" she says so I can be in Jeff's (new worship pastor at their church) iBand one day!!! ahahaha! love you mom! and I hope dad caves. so who is with me? i'll play the handbells, Christy can I count you in?! (anyone can join, but you're the only one I know who has an ipad, well has as in your husband lets you play with his sometimes like mine!)

holding our breath

2011-03-10T20:48:00.003-05:00

holding your breath is something you do before you are about to go underwater.
before you take a big leap.
when you're scared or in pain.
or even when you are waiting in adrenaline pumping anticipation for something.

i feel like that is where we are right now. in a constant state of holding our breath for the uncertainty that after we leap the landing won't be pretty. i know that maybe some who read this blog aren't as saturated into the adoption world as we are, so i thought i would let you know what was going on. most of what we know is speculation as to why right now. the thing that we do know is that something is happening in the ethiopian government specifically with MOWA (ministry of women's affairs-these guys give the approval in court for your child to become yours) they are potentially cutting adoptions by 90%. some numbers that i have seen say that there were 2,500 adoptions to the u.s from ethiopia last year. this would reduce that number to 500, across the board, not with just one agency.
to say that that would be a tragedy does not do it justice. not just for the families hoping to bring children into their families but for the precious children that are waiting for moms and dads. i can't even think about how all the statistics that burdened our hearts to adopt from ethiopia would grow exponentially to even more alarming numbers than now.
some say that this change in court proceedings is because of corruption and unethical practices in child abandonment and relinquishment. if this is the case then of course the children absolutely come first and need to be protected, but i pray they will find another way to make sure this happens without leaving so many orphans without a family.
others have said that is it is because of staffing or restructuring. and if this is true i hope and pray that they will take the necessary measures to increase staff and training so that they can continue to process cases. i have to believe right now that this is temporary and not a permanent thing. there is not much information to go off of right now and we are so thankful that our agency is keeping us up to date on the facts. we do know that our God is sovereign. we are confident in Him and His plan and know that adoption for us has been affirmed in our lives right now. we are clinging to that right now in the midst of all our emotions and uncertainty. my hope is that this will all blow-over and will end up being just a hiccup in the process, or possibly even a better, smoother process for ethiopia with improvements in the system. in the mean time we we wait... so while we are holding our breath right now hoping for the best and some more information on how this will effect ethiopian adoptions we ask that you breathe out a prayer for the children of ethiopia and all the families affected.

Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.
Psalm 68:5

Some more great videos!

2011-03-07T22:48:00.003-05:00

I'm sure that some of you don't read the same blogs I read and may not have seen these wonderful new gotcha day videos. These MUST be shared! They are such beautiful stories of families being united and God's amazing love. Get your tissues ready. I am not really a crier and I was crying! The first is from Our Heritage From the Lord.

Home At Last from dan owens on Vimeo. This one I found on one of my favorite blogs Our Family Advocating For the Orphan.

We have some updates on the adoption front but we'll save those for another day. For now enjoy these sweet sweet stories.

Our Jewelry

2011-02-22T21:50:00.005-05:00

As promised here are some pictures of the jewelry we got each other for Christmas. Now I'm sure there are different opinions on this and some might think it is silly, but here is the reasoning. When you're pregnant you have a very physical, tangible reminder of the life that you are expecting to come into your family. It is also there for other people to see and share in your excitement. In adoption you obviously don't have that.
This is just our way of carrying him around with us, to show people that we too are expecting parents. To be honest that's just one of the many hard things about adopting vs. pregnancy. The reactions you get from people is not always filled with the same excitement as when someone announces they are pregnant. It is sometimes glossed over like people don't think you're serious or something. Or their reaction is filled with lots of questions, which is understandable in some cases. Although it might look different and though the wait may be longer than 9 months we are hopeful for that life that will come into our family as well.

It is hard to tell but Adam's ring has a greek inscription on the outside. υκ αφησω υμας ορφανους ερχομαι προς υμας translated John 14:18 I will not leave you as orphans I will come to you. This verse is widely used in adoption circles for obvious reasons, but it is more than just a promise to our son or a phrase to be tossed around. It is the word of God, a promise that our heavenly Father made to us that he has not left us fatherless. We have redemption in him through his son Jesus and have received his inheritance. We are His.

If you're interested in my necklace you can find it here on etsy. And if you like Adam's ring we can give you the name of the jeweler who did it!
Also I have made some necklaces of my own for when I like to change it up a bit. I am probably going to start selling them as a fundraiser too so stay tuned!

Name Change

2011-02-15T21:36:00.003-05:00

heart (härt)n.

- The chambered muscular organ in vertebrates that pumps blood received from the veins into the arteries, thereby maintaining the flow of blood through the entire circulatory system.

-The vital center and source of one's being, emotions, and sensibilities.

-The repository of one's deepest and sincerest feelings and beliefs.

-The seat of the intellect or imagination.

-Emotional constitution, basic disposition, or character.
-One's prevailing mood or current inclination.

-Capacity for sympathy or generosity; compassion.

-Love; affection.

-Courage; resolution; fortitude.

-The firmness of will or the callousness required to carry out an unpleasant task or responsibility.

-A person esteemed or admired as lovable, loyal, or courageous.

-The central or innermost physical part of a place or region.

-The most important or essential part.

so I've decided to give the ole' blog a facelift and a new name. I was kind of getting tired of stories of us and wanted to reflect where we are. The title reflects different things about our faith in Christ and family at this point. It is about the place where we hold Silas. It is about the place where Christ dwells within us. All of these definitions of the heart describe this journey. A place where you get your source of strength and experience great depths of sadness.

We got each other adoption jewelry this year for Christmas which I can't believe I forgot to post... coming soon! When you're pregnant you are carrying your child with you all the time. This is just my, our, small way of tangibly carrying him with us each day. We want people to know what we are waiting and hoping for. Now faith is is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Not flesh of my flesh,
Nor bone of my bone, But
still miraculously my own. Never
forget a single minute, You didn't
grow under my heart-
but in it.
~Fleur Conkling Heyliger

Just wanted to say Thanks!

2011-02-13T18:03:00.003-05:00

We had a great time at our Pancake Fundraiser Dinner. Our current small group and previous small group that we planted from originally put this on for us. They did everything: gathered supplies, set up/tear down, cooking, and they also got places like Chic-fil-A, Adventure Landing, Cici's Pizza, and Krispy Kreme to donate prizes and supplies.

We are so very very thankful to each and every person who came out and supported us. It truly means so much to us. We are so thankful for our church family and the tremendous support we have through the body of Christ. Because of your kindness and generosity we made $750.00!!! so THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! We are so blessed!

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, having favor with all the people. And the Lord praising God and added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Acts 2:42-47

Pancake Dinner Fundraiser!

2011-01-31T21:54:00.004-05:00

My sweet friend Laura Ashley, together with a couple of other small groups has organized a Pancake Dinner Fundraiser complete with raffle prizes and all! She has really outdone herself and we are so grateful. I could never imagined putting something like this on myself. She thought of the whole thing and has done all the hard work in getting several businesses to donate great prizes! She is expecting her little one in August, and I am so looking forward to being moms together. So thankful for all the great friends the Lord has blessed us with!
We would love for you to come support us and all of Laura Ashley's hard work and eat some pancakes! and bring a friend!!

And the Name is....

2011-01-21T22:19:00.004-05:00

That's right SILAS is his name! Four people guessed the name, so we drew out of those four, as stated in the rules, and Rachael was the winner! Thanks for playing everyone, we really appreciate your support and excitement for us, it really means so much! We are so thankful to have friends and family walk through this journey with us as we bring Silas home.

Summit Friends Gotcha Day Video!

2011-01-15T09:13:00.003-05:00

I had to share this gotcha day video. I love watching these, such sweet stories of babies being united with their families and their homecoming. This family is a part of our church and they were a part of several families that started our orphan care ministry, which the Lord used to lead us to adoption! Their little boy is PRECIOUS! So thank you Brian and Heather for being apart of something so amazing and setting such a great example.

6 days left to enter our name game and giveaway!

The Name Game and Giveaway!

2011-01-10T19:22:00.004-05:00

Welcome! We have some exciting news! We have picked a name for our baby boy! We thought we would have a little fun with it. We want YOU to participate even if we don't know you personally! That will just make it more fun!

We decided to go ahead and share the name with our families at Christmas. Now we know that everyone has differing opinions on when or if to share their child's name, before or after birth, etc. Or in our case before/after referral or court. But besides the fact that we couldn't wait after we decided on a name to share it, we feel like it will make it easier for our families and us if we have a name to associate with the child we're waiting on. It just makes the whole process that much more personal, for us anyways. To each his own!

We're getting VERY close to our goal for the first chunk of money that goes with all the paperwork/homestudy/dossier. After this we will have until our referral to save for the rest! woo hoo! Praise God, the Lord provides and we are so very humbled.

Here's how The Name Game and Giveaway works:

1. Each guess or entry is a suggested $5 dollar donation (or $10 for 2 guesses, $15 for three... and you get my drift) you can use the paypal button on the side. Or else send us an e-mail (mooreadoption at gmail dot com) for our address if you're not comfortable with the whole online paying thing and you still want to participate.

2. Each entry will give you an opportunity to win either an iPod shuffle or a $50.00 Visa giftcard if you already have a shuffle, your pick!
3. The giveaway will last for 10 days. It will end January 20th, and the winner will be announced on Friday January 21st. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post with your guess and a way for us to contact you.

Rules:
1. If multiple people guess the name then we will do a drawing between all those people that guessed the name. Probably just an old-fashioned hat drawing, since using random.org in this case wouldn't really work.

2. If no one guesses the name, then you will ALL be eligible to win, we will use random.org and choose a winner that way.

A Hint:
If you haven't noticed our cute little ticker at the top yet, it says Journey to baby "S" in Ethiopia. So his name starts with an S! that's all the hints folks, now start guessing and spread the word!

Soma Church Denver, CO

2011-01-06T20:47:00.000-05:00

Soma Church Vision Day from The Summit Church on Vimeo.

We are super excited for all of our friends and fellow Summit Church members who are making their way or are already out in Denver, CO right now! We are so thankful to be a part of a church that is so passionate about planting churches. We can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for Soma Church, and we are excited to see them grow! (We never thought we would say this but we are a little jealous they're in Denver and we're not!)

Here's Tucker and Penny (the Barley's dog) playing together. They were good friends while they were here and Tucker will certainly miss beating her up! We're praying for you SOMA CHURCH!

Happy Graduation!

2010-12-30T20:01:00.006-05:00

On December 17th, Adam graduated with his Master of Divinity! (sorry honey, this is a little, well a lot late!) He finished well, with all A's! I am so very proud of all of his hard work. We were so excited for our families to be able to celebrate with us, my mom and dad, Adams parents, his sister, her boyfriend, and 2 sets of grandparents were able to join us and show their support for Adam and his great accomplishment!
I am so glad these guys were able to start and finish together. We have had the privilege to walk through life with the Harpers and the Ferrells, from college, to weddings, to seminary. We are so thankful for such great friends in our lives!
Congratulations boys!!!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T18:28:00.007-05:00

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
(Galatians 4:4-5 ESV)

Remembering God's promise to us this Christmas season, and thankful that we too have been adopted because of His birth. Merry Christmas!!

2nd Orphan Care Meeting

2010-12-17T20:02:00.003-05:00

Adoption Ministry Update from The Summit Church on Vimeo.

We had our second orphan care meeting this past week. It was on financing your adoption, which we all need a little help in that area! We had the president of the Abba Fund come and speak to us. We got some helpful ideas and excited that there were some new people there that are interested in adoption. Check out the video and see if you can spot our picture!

Winter Snow by Audrey Assad and Chris Tomlin

2010-12-11T21:19:00.003-05:00

We got to go to our churches Christmas concert on Friday night. What I LOVE about our church is that everything is about the gospel so it was not some huge big to-do program with live animals that may or may not cooperate (by the way did you hear about this guy?! oh wow), that drains our budget when it could probably best be used for other things. Instead the choir just sings as well as some audience participation, and it is was a night of worshiping the Lord together. This year they actually sold tickets and all the proceeds are going to jump start our prison ministry. Our church leaders have identified 5 areas of society that we are going to focus on: the orphan, the high-school dropout, the homeless, the prisoner, and the unwed mother.
This song was sung beautifully by one of the members. I had never heard it but it is so beautiful, one of the best new Christmas songs I've heard. Love it!

Next Steps...

2010-12-09T21:00:00.002-05:00

We are so very grateful to be at this point! Next we are looking forward to getting our home study scheduled and completed soon! Some of the things that got us to this point are:

Selling a ton of Mary Kay items on Craigslist, to friends and family, as well as at the school's craft fair!
Just Love Coffee, you can visit our store here. Or by clicking the button to the right.
Also our puzzle pieces! We're getting close to 200 hooray! and our goal is 500
We also love that our parents have jumped on board. Adams mom did a jewelry party in our honor, and my mom did a ThirtyOne party as well.

We appreciate all who have supported us thus far through giving and prayer. If you're interested in getting involved click on the how you can help tab! We are forever grateful!

It's a...

2010-12-06T19:26:00.004-05:00

BOY! not your typical sonogram picture but this is ours in a way. Group 1 of our paperwork is on its way to Gladney. We chose to specify the gender for many reasons. In an already uncertain process, it is nice to know one thing for sure! But the main reason being because the adoption process is so long and there aren't really any physical or tangible things happening like there are in pregnancy. We wanted to be able to actively "do" something while we are waiting for our little one.

I read this blog about this family who didn't know if they were getting a boy, a girl, or a sibling group. She just talked about how she didn't know what to do because she didn't know what to prepare for, all she could do was buy books and she said she was tired of buying books! It just seemed so sad and I could totally understand! So I think it will make the process maybe a tiny little bit easier knowing that we can prepare with certainty for a boy! We hope to get groups 2 and 3 in before Christmas!

We are completely humbled and grateful for the Lord's provision to get us to this point, and know that the one who calls us is faithful and He will do it.

A Shutterfly Christmas

2010-11-27T09:30:00.002-05:00

Finally a giveaway for the little guys! All the great giveaways by companies always go to the big time bloggers, but there is justice afterall!! Shutterfly is offering 50 free Christmas cards to bloggers! That's right regular ole' bloggers like myself. My family uses Shutterfly all during the year to share pictures of birthdays, family outings, and of course pictures of the nephews. So naturally I had already been perusing their website for our Christmas card pictures that we had taken by A Life Well Photographed, so when I heard about this promotion I was all over it! The only problems is that I am having a hard time narrowing down which one I like, there are so many beautiful cards!

I love the more modern look of this card
Or the more budget friendly modern look of this card
The non traditional look of this card
Or maybe even a folded card, I love the idea of getting to put a personal message in them!

As you can see a tough decision, well at least whatever I decide one thing is for sure, we will have Christmas cards with style!

Win a TN Getaway for Adoption

2010-11-16T20:08:00.003-05:00

This is a great giveaway/Adoption fundraiser for the Coalson's. They are fellow "Summiteers"adopting from Ethiopia. They need to raise $4,000 in 90 days. You could win a 3 night stay in this cabin:
* 4 bedrooms
* 3.5 baths
* Sleeps 18
Complete with hot tub, fireplace, and game room

Go to their blog coalsonadoption.blogspot.com to enter:
* $20 = 1 entry
* $50 = 3 entries
* $100+ = 6 entries
You have until Sunday December 5 to enter, and they'll draw a winner at 6:00pm.

So head on over and help this sweet family bring home their baby!

Pain with a Purpose

2010-11-12T22:30:00.003-05:00

Today Adam and I had to have physicals and blood work done for our paperwork. I was actually excited to get to this point! It means we're making progress people! Adam on the other hand was not thrilled about the idea of being poked and prodded, but we women are tough and I had it all together. I'm still not sure how I came out with a tetanus shot and he didn't when he was totally due before me, but your time is coming my friend! muhahahaha

They have to make sure that we don't have and "communicable diseases", and of course the infamous TB test, why is it that you always have to have this done? Let me ask you something, just curious but if I had TB don't you think I WOULD KNOW IT?!!

The Dr. also asked me if we had been through infertility testing, partly because it is on the form, but when I replied, no we haven't we have no idea if we're infertile, we just wanted to adopt first. Her response was, and they'll "let you do that?" Sometimes I forget that I am not in my adoption bubble and most people don't get that we're called as believers to care for the orphans, so I kindly replied, Adoption was never plan B for us, this is just something we wanted to do. I missed an opportunity to share with her about our spiritual adoption in Christ, and how it is because of His love for us that we are responding to and that is why we're adopting. Help me to be bold Lord!

This is partly why we're adopting our first child, we hope to be a part of changing the culture of adoption and the way it is viewed. Our adoption mentors did a guest blog over at A Life Well Photographed, who is taking our Christmas pictures tomorrow by the way, can't wait for that! She does a great job of explaining Why Adoption First.

I was hoping to get some pictures to document our day but we weren't together except for the beginning and the end but here is what I like to think happened when they came at him with the needle for blood work
In all actuality I'm sure he was very brave... uhhum uhhum...

How He Loves us so

2010-11-07T17:41:00.005-05:00

It has been a crazzzzy busy week, I won't bore you with all the activities but bottom line, zero time for blogging. Our weekend ended with the craft fair at SEBTS where we sold some of the makeup. It went SO well and we are VERY pleased! That plus some other things has put us about $1,000 dollars away from what we need for this first chunk of money. And in the grand scheme of things that is not bad at all, and totally attainable. After this we won't need anything until our referral time! Wow... so I'm going to spill my guts, WARNING: you might get bored!

Honestly, I've kind of felt discouraged lately. I keep having this feeling of we're not doing anything we're not doing anything over and over. It's because what we're doing right now is raising money so that we can be prepared to send in this large portion all at once. Instead I want to be in the thick of the paperwork working toward being on the waitlist.

Adam reminds me that we are working just in a different way. So finally we are starting, like more than just signing the things that we already had that didn't cost any money to do kind of starting. This week I will be sending of my passport to be renewed with my new name (should've got that one done a while ago, whoops), and we are going to get our blood work/physicals done, I don't think I have ever been so excited to have blood work done! Hopefully we'll have all of round 1 paperwork in by thanksgiving? *fingers crossed* so all of this got me thinking how did we get here...

Our pastor is at the beginning of this series called Search for a King about the life of David. Today his message was about how David was just and ordinary guy. He was a shepherd the lowest of the low jobs during his time. You can listen to that message here. But he was ordinary so that God could do extraordinary things through him that he could not have done on his own.

We are just like David. We are ordinary. And God is providing in extraordinary ways for this average family to adopt one of His children. So many Christians are deterred by adoption because it is such an extravagant amount of money that most average people just don't have. But there is a God, and He will provide. oh how thankful I am.

It is hard for all of it to sink in honestly, God just did it, just like that. I didn't have to do anything except pray. It just shows how big God is and how he doesn't NEED us. That's why I feel so blessed to be simply a part of what God is doing. I love this verse I read on someones blog this week it was just so encouraging

"Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you,
saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
Isaiah 30:21

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

listen to that song here

And the Winner is....

2010-10-27T21:20:00.003-04:00

I've seen a lot of people use random.org for blog giveaways so I tried it out and according to it.... Rebekah is the winner! Thanks everyone for entering I really appreciate it. And if you still want to come with us on Thursday Nov. 4th for $20 that would be great! I promise you WON'T regret it and it is totally worth your time and money. Plus Su is an adoptive mama like I said in the original post and all the money from her classes is going towards bringing their sweet boy home! Just leave a comment on here if you still want to go so we can go together! Thanks again!

Grocery Bill REVEALED!

2010-10-24T20:50:00.002-04:00

Just in case you were on the edge about entering the giveaway for the FREE coupon class I wanted to share a quick rundown of our grocery bill this week. We did pretty good if you ask me, I'm sure there is always room for improvement which is why I plan on attending again for a refresher!

We got A LOT of stuff for just 2 people. Including several things that we didn't have to have, like: Colgate Wisps ($0.50), Starbucks Natural Fusion Coffee ($5.50), and a DVD ($2.00). I also stocked up on some Campbells soups for $0.87 each, then I got home and realized that I already had several so now that I have 45,349,403 soups in the cabinet I won't be buying those for a while!

So our total bill would have been $170.21 and for the record that is the highest total we have had since starting couponing, maybe ever, that is a lot of money for 2 people geeze! but we paid $77.03 that is a savings of 55% or $93.18. I'll take that people!

The great thing about couponing is you can get those little extra things that you might not have purchased otherwise. Also, we were able to stock up on some things so it is likely that next week our grocery bill will be less. So go comment on my original post and win that class so you can be on your way to cutting your grocery bill in half!

FREE Coupon Class Giveaway!!!

2010-10-19T21:05:00.003-04:00

I am so excited to announce my very first giveaway on my blog! Giveaway runs Oct. 19th-Oct. 26th. Winner will be drawn randomly and announced Oct. 27th.

A little background:
So back in March I went to a coupon class at a local church with my friend Erin. You can read more in detail about it here. I had already been doing the "dinky" kind of couponing at Wal-Mart, you know where you buy a box of cereal at regular price and use your coupon, maybe saving $10 total on my $100 bill. I was very eager to learn more about it after hearing of these "super" couponers cutting their grocery bills in half and even paying nothing for some items! um excuse me?... sign me up! I just needed someone to break it down for me, I was a little overwhelmed. So I went.

The Result:
Let me just tell you, even after 1 week of grocery shopping we LITERALLY cut our bill in HALF! going from roughly $100 at Wal-Mart to around $50 at Harris Teeter, for the whole week. I was amazed. It takes some practice and strategy, but totally worth it. She also teaches you how to do the drugstores, and boy do they have some deals!! Just an example; I got a Gillette ProGlide Fusion Razor for Adam with 2 cartridges included, for 98 cents. Yes you read that right and no I'm not making that up.

The Giveaway:
The mastermind and queen herself Su Soutter over at The Intentional Home, is offering a free class to one winner on Thursday November 4th from 7-9 at Raleigh Vineyard on Litchford Road. You can read more information about the specific class here. I plan to attend the class as well for a refresher so I can get even better at it! Best part is Su is an adoptive mama herself and about to get her little boy from Ethiopia. So feel free to bring a friend with you if you win, they'll just have to pay the $20 to enter, and all the proceeds are going to her adoption right now.

How To Enter:
1. Comment on this post with the phrase "Teach Me!"
2. Make sure to put your email address so I can contact you if you're the winner.
3. Make sure you're available on Nov. 4th if you win!
4. Even if you don't win come anyways you WON'T regret it, totally worth your time!

Meet Grant!

2010-10-16T21:37:00.007-04:00

On Thursday the 14th our second nephew was born. I was so excited to be there when he arrived at 7:05 pm. When Jackson was born we waited allllllll night long for him to be born at 6:30 am! Everything went perfectly for Ivey, she even said afterward that it was a "piece of cake." She had good drugs!
He's already making funny faces!

Brothers? I think so!!! they have the same nose for sure! Welcome Grant we can't wait to love on you and watch you grow!

Together for Adoption

2010-10-08T17:00:00.000-04:00

Last weekend in Texas there was a huge conference called Together for Adoption. They provide, "Gospel-centered resources to mobilize the church for global orphan care." We hope to catch up on some of the sessions that they have posted on line, and maybe to attend in the future?!

There is a blog called It's Almost Naptime that I have seen through a friends blog that is adopting and she attended the conference. She wrote a really neat blog about their future daughter and the Theology of Adoption, she has a unique perspective that is definitely worth reading.

In less than a year (hopefully) Walker and I, citizens of the wealthiest country in the history of the world, will travel across the globe to Africa to retrieve the child who has been chosen for us.

We are unknown to this child. We are complete strangers to her. She does not know our ways, or how we think. She could not even fathom these things about us if she were to try - which she would not. Because she is an infant, her mind is not capable of grasping who we are or the land from which we will come. But even if she were older, Houston, Texas is so utterly disparate from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that it would take much explanation to supply her with even a glimpse of our world. It is simply beyond the scope of her experience and imagination. Inconceivable.

This child is nothing like us. First off, she's much smaller than we are. In addition to that, she resembles us only in the way that all humans resemble. I guess you could say that she is made in our image in that she will have two hands and two feet and two eyes and ears and a nose, but aside from the basics, we are very different. Her skin will be much darker. Her hair will be much different and require me to learn a brand new skill set in order to maintain it. Her skull will be shaped in the way unique to Ethiopians. Her DNA will contain the reminders of thousands of years of her own personal anthropology. None of mine or Walker's. Her personality will be her own, assembled from the genes of her ancestors. Her mutations will be her own. Her propensity to disease or greatness will not be inherited from either one of us.

This child is an orphan. She has not a possession in the world. And she is an orphan in a third world country on top of that. No one can get any poorer than our Bethie is. We, by contrast, are incredibly rich. Walker earns over a thousand times what the majority of her fellow countrymen earn. A thousand times. By contrast, we are millionaires a hundred times over. The woman who bore her could probably not conceive of the riches that Walker and I possess in our upper-middle-class American world.

This child belongs to no one. And she is female. She has no power. Any intellect and ambition that may be etched in her soul and personality would be cast aside in the daily struggle to survive. If she survives at all in a land of desperate statistics. We, by contrast, have all the power in the world. We're educated, we're healthy, we're wealthy, we're well connected. There is little we could not accomplish, if we chose to do so.

Despite our many differences, for the past year, Walker and I have committed to this invisible child. We have denied ourselves financially as we struggle to raise an exorbitant amount of money to pay her ransom. We have suffered emotionally and mentally in the process. We have lost friends. We have strained relationships with family. We've endured the questioning, the mocking, and the criticism from others for our choice.

Somewhere there is a woman who is pregnant with a girl. The woman will make a great sacrifice to give her life - either by her own death, or by handing the child who has kicked her womb for months to strangers with a desperate plea for them to care for her. The sacrifice will not be easy. The sacrifice will be costly.

And soon, when the time is just right, we will take a long journey to a land that is in some ways a reflection of hell, where death abounds, where disease is rampant, where life is cheap. We will not count the cost as we will take a child we have never known, who is not of us, and hold her in our arms tell her how far we've come for her. We will cover her face - the face that looks nothing like our own - with kisses. We will give her our name so that all the world will know that she belongs to us and is a rightful heir to all of the riches we possess. We will ask her to call us Daddy and Momma and we will always answer her when she does. Then we will bring our child back to our life and our family and our home and our hearts and she will be an orphan no more.

And we will understand the Theology of Adoption in a way that we never could have before we found her.

But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a women, born under the Law, so that he might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘ABBA, Father!’ Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.
Galatians 4:4-7

A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in His holy habitation.Psalm 68:5

I love Google Reader

2010-10-06T17:00:00.001-04:00

If you're an avid blog reader like I am and you're not using Google Reader, do it... now. It will change your life, well maybe not exactly, but it will save you a LOT of time. I can't believe I waited so long to start using it. I have been using it for over a month now, and it cuts my computer time in the evening down so that I don't have to go to each blog page that I regularly look at to see if they've updated. It will let YOU know when someone has updated, all listed together in alphabetical order neatly on the side. So thank you Google Reader for giving me my life back.

Question 2 Why Ethiopia? answered

2010-10-04T20:34:00.005-04:00

We want to let you know a little bit about why we picked Ethiopia, and international adoption period. First, domestic adoption can be uncertain process, based on a number of factors that I won't go into right now. At this point in our lives we are not really prepared for that but it could be a possibility for us in the future.

So then it comes down to what international countries we are qualified for based on Age, Length of Marriage, and Country/Agency guidelines. We met all the requirements for 3 countries, Ethiopia being one of them.

From there we looked at number of orphans in each country, and cost/length of adoption. Ethiopia has 75 million people and because of famine, conflict, and disease they have an estimated 5 million orphans, um... excuse me... WOW, one of the largest orphan populations in the world.

Last year 1,724 of these children were adopted to the US. That's only .0003 percent.
1 in 10 children there die before their 1st birthday
1 in 6 children die before their 5th birthday
Half the children in Ethiopia will never attend school
60% of children in Ethiopia are stunted because of malnutrition
1/3 of the population survive on less than $1 a day
(thanks for letting me steal the stats Rebekah!)

Astounded yet? Well this is our call to action as believers in Christ, James 1:27, Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

5 million orphans, minus one.

Adoption in the Wall Street Journal!

2010-09-27T18:32:00.003-04:00

This article just came out in the Wall Street Journal this past week. This is so cool that adoption is being recognized by a non-christian news source as something that is counter-cultural. How profound! I love how she talks about this as a response to our spiritual adoption. I'm so excited to be a part of this, and changing people's views of adoption as plan B!

Adoption Season For Evangelicals
By Naomi S. Riley

Last Saturday at Grace Chapel in Denver, Focus on the Family (in collaboration with the Colorado Department of Human Services) hosted an information session for parents interested in adopting children out of the foster-care system. More than 150 families were represented and 55 of those have already begun the process. It was a successful and fitting end for the summer of 2010, which turned into a season of adoption for evangelicals.

In May, megachurch pastor Rick Warren held a "civil forum" on the subject. An audience of 800 attended and thousands more watched the webcast from their homes. "Orphans and vulnerable children are not a cause," said Warren. "They are a biblical and social mandate we can't ignore. A country half the size of the U.S—that's how many orphans there are in the world. We're not talking about a small problem."

Adoption was the cover story of Christianity Today in July. It included a feature by Russell Moore, dean of the School of Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in which he described in heart-wrenching terms the circumstances of his own adoption of two brothers from a Russian orphanage.

Mr. Moore, the author of a book called "Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families and Churches," has become a sort of go-to person for evangelicals on the issue of adoption. In trying to explain why Christians have a particular duty to adopt, he told me that "every one of us who follows Christ was adopted into an already existing family."

Which is to say that unlike Judaism or Islam, faiths that one is born into, Christianity requires each member to have an individual relationship with Christ. And so, in that sense, it is as if each Christian is adopted.

Yet it is the efforts of Focus on the Family, a group which has previously been most known for its political involvement on issues like abortion and gay marriage, that have produced the most striking results so far. The group announced two years ago that it would be devoting a considerable amount of its resources to a new initiative called "Wait No More." Focus is partnering with different state governments—six so far—to reduce the number of children on foster-care roles.

In Colorado alone, Focus has moved about 500 of the 800 kids in foster care into permanent homes over the course of less than two years. The group has had success helping infertile couples desperate for families, but also in placing children with couples who are older, some of whose children have already grown up and left home.

The Focus efforts are particularly interesting because foster kids are typically not young, and often have emotional or even physical problems as a result of a lack of prenatal care, or neglectful birth or foster parents. Sometimes they can only be adopted with siblings, and so a family must take on two or more children at the same time.

Foster children are also likely to be of a different race from their new adoptive parents. As more and more evangelical churches take up the cause of adoption on a large scale, their congregations have begun to look like the multiracial sea of faces that Christian leaders often talk about wanting. But it does involve parents giving up on having children who look like them.

All of this makes the growing evangelical interest in adoption seem particularly countercultural. With the widespread availability of artificial reproductive technologies such as in-vitro fertilization, many couples who previously would have chosen adoption can now use surrogates, donor sperm or donor eggs to have a baby who shares their DNA (or whose DNA they have carefully chosen), and whose prenatal care they can closely monitor. Taking a child as he or she comes to you may be a difficult choice for some parents to make these days.

The contemporary cultural message that we can have complete control over our children goes beyond making sure our babies are healthy and our children are given good moral direction. We take yoga classes with our infants, we attach GPS devices to children's backpacks and we call our kids in college on a daily, if not hourly, basis. There is no doubt that the world can seem a more dangerous place, with too many other influences, particularly new media, trying to exert control over our children. Now that Americans are having fewer children, we fret more over each one, too.

But how much control can we have? A Christianity Today cover story earlier this year on "The Myth of the Perfect Parent" discussed the sense many religious parents have that they've failed if their child strays from the church. Given this backdrop and the wider cultural messages about parenting, one wonders how these evangelical adoptive parents overcome their own desire for control, bring a stranger into their home, and then take responsibility for raising him.

The most persuasive explanation comes from the author of that article, Leslie Leyland Fields, who exhorts her readers: "We are not sovereign over our children—only God is. Children are not tomatoes to stake out or mules to train, nor are they numbers to plug into an equation. They are full human beings wondrously and fearfully made. Parenting, like all tasks under the sun, is intended as an endeavor of love, risk, perseverance, and, above all, faith."

Ms. Riley is an affiliate scholar at the Institute for American Values.

Gotcha!

2010-09-23T20:30:00.002-04:00

If you're not familiar with adoption, this is a term commonly used for the day that you are united with your child; gotcha day. This is the day that as you can imagine everyone longs, dreams, and hopes for. A day that is ever present on our minds as we begin this journey. Here are some of my favorite "Gotcha Day" videos that I have found. Get your tissues ready!

Call me Mary Kay

2010-09-17T17:45:00.015-04:00

Introducing fundraiser number three, and it's a big one! We had someone that we barely knew donate a TON of Mary Kay make-up for us to sell. I am so amazed at the goodness of God, and the kindness of strangers. I still can't believe it, it doesn't seem real! I am blown away at how the Lord is providing for us in such a huge way! If you or anyone you know wears Mary Kay, or would in this instance since it is going to a good cause let me know! What makes it even better? We are selling it all for 50% off the retail price!
Some of the stuff:
Adam taking inventory of all the stuff, and watching West Wing. He felt he was getting a little too in touch with his feminine side.
A little tired after several hours of organizing!
So if you're reading this I need YOUR help! No matter who you are, because that is the only way all this stuff is going to get sold! Contact me at mooreadoption (at) gmail (dot) com to order and for more specific colors since there are a ton of lipsticks, eyeshadows, etc. I will let you know the shipping fee if necessary on a per order basis. You can click on the link on the side links or here to view the list of everything. Thanks so much for your help!

Question 1 Why? answered

2010-09-12T20:45:00.005-04:00

One of the first questions we often hear is, “Why adopt.” It seems so expensive, you are young (well at least Ashley, she says I am quickly losing the ability for this claim), you have not had “your own” kids yet, etc. These questions are often asked with good intent and many are understandable. So we wanted to give you a brief story of our decision to adopt.

A few years ago, after her trip to East Asia, Ashley began telling me about her desire to adopt one day. I thought it seems like a good idea, and one I agreed to, thinking it would be something off in our distant future. Not too long after, about two years ago, I remember seeing the video below which gave one of the clearest explanations behind adoption I had ever heard. In the video, John Piper (pastor in Minnesota, and someone Ashley and I became familiar with through the Passion Conferences in college), gave a compelling explanation of our adoption in Christ and how that is the foundation for adoption ministry. I am not sure there was anything groundbreaking in the words of this video, they were ideas I knew, but I believe God used this to begin to grow the desire in my heart for adoption. I was no longer a willing participant and supporter, but began to deeply desire to be a part of adoption.

Fast-forward through our engagement and wedding, and our life together is off to a great start. We were excited about the future, but still believed adoption would be later if life. Then a few months ago, our church held its first orphan care ministry event, letting those interested get more information. Ashley and I decided to attend, just so we could know what the steps would look like in a few years. It was a great time, we were very encouraged by all those attending, and signed up for a mentor couple, who would give us help and advice on the process. After this meeting, we really began to consider the idea: should we wait a few years, or is this the right time? Our mentor couple contacted Ashley and let us know they would like to have us over for dinner sometime to discuss our plans. We were surprised to find out our mentors who were in the process, but our same age! After a great conversation of their story and answering some questions, we talked it over and decided we wanted to move forward now. We began looking through agencies and countries, and realized there are many different requirements and rules for various countries, and finally settled on Ethiopia. A few of the reasons why:

-Out of roughly 85 million in Ethiopia, there are estimated 4-6 million orphans.
-About 50% of the population is under 18 due to war, disease and poverty.
-Half of the children will never attend school. 88% will never attend secondary school.

These are just a few of the many reasons we choose adoption and a country that is in desperate need for people to care for the children there, and we can’t wait to be a part. We are so thankful for everyone who has been so supportive and look forward to you being a part of this process with us!

Love Coffee!? Drink for a cause!

2010-09-11T19:05:00.004-04:00

Puzzle Piece not really your thing? Here's another fundraiser! I'm tellin' ya people we've got somethin' for everybody, more coming soon! This is a great way to get a good bag of coffee and help support us. Just Love Coffee "roasts Fair Trade Specialty coffees, Just Love uses proceeds to help an Ethiopian orphanage and families adopting not just from Ethiopia, but from anywhere in the world." We get $5.00 from every bag purchased. We also got this idea from our adoption mentors! Adam looooooves coffee so this was a must! Adam taste tested the coffee and from one coffee snob, I mean connoisseur to the next, he approves! Please let us know if you purchase some so we can properly thank you, no matter who you are! The link is http://www.justlovecoffee.com/themoores

Some exciting news!

2010-09-09T20:09:00.003-04:00

Remember this post?

Well, Adam and I feel the Lord is leading us to start the process of adoption! So far we have completed the pre-application and were approved for Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Ethiopia. Mostly because of the alarming statistics and sheer volume of orphans (around 4.8 million) we are moving forward with Ethiopia.

I know there are many many questions like: why your first child?, how much does it cost?, why Ethiopia?, boy or girl? and the biggest of all that some are dying to ask, why don't you just have your "own" kids? Boy do I hate that word "own." That's another post for another day, another explanation. All of these questions will be answered, but not in one post. Do you know how long it would be if I did, I would get bored writing it and you would get bored reading it, so I'll spare you. That's why I invite you to follow along with us as we begin our journey!

If you know anything about adoption you know that it is EXPENSIVE! Most people our age and stage in life don't have an extra twenty-five to thirty grand layin' around, and in case you're wondering neither do we, so we are going to be raising money along the way. One way that you can GET.INVOLVED.RIGHT.NOW. is to purchase a puzzle piece. This is a great idea for adoptions and was given to me by this couple from our church that are adopting as well. You'll see the puzzle picture and paypal button to the side where you can give.

Here is how it works. Our goal is to have 500 pieces purchased. Which would be a HUGE step toward starting. So you buy a puzzle piece for $10 (wanna buy more than one? that's cool too). We will write your name or family name on the back of the puzzle piece. Once it is completed we will hang it in one of the clear picture frames so you can see the front and back. It will hang in our child's room as a reminder of all the people that helped to bring him/her home. Plus it will give us a lasting record of who helped make this possible.

I HIGHLY recommend Russell Moore's book Adopted for Life. more on that later.... but he talks about as believers we are all called to look after the orphans and widows in their distress... james 1:27, whether that is through adopting a child or helping someone adopt a child through prayer or giving.

So get ready people, here we go!

Edisto

2010-08-19T20:04:00.012-04:00

Our last vacation of the summer was to Edisto Island with my side of the family. My aunt and uncle have a beach house there and kindly open it up to us so that we can all be together!
my sweet parents!
us at sunset on the river side of Edisto, our favorite family evening outing (say that five times fast!)Jackson playing in the water
can we go back now please?!
yep I got stung by a jellyfish, out of 5 people in the water! Apparently there is an unusual number of jellyfish right now, lots of people are getting stung. Luckily the lady next to us keeps meat tenderizer in her beach bag, helps get the sting out. Who knew?
We finished out the week with a day on the lake with Adam's family and our Tucker.
true lab!
courtney's first time tubing! she survived and we had a great time! is it too early to start planning next years vacation?!

"I Just Haven't Met You Yet"

2010-08-01T20:02:00.005-04:00

We got to go to the Michael Buble' concert with my sisters and their husbands at the beginning of July. It was awesome! He is actually really funny... a little crude at times... but a lot more entertaining than you would think. The concert opened with a group called Naturally 7, they make all the musical instruments with their voices, so not a traditional acapella group. It was really cool, this is a video of one of their songs. Then Buble' came out, and he was great! You know how you hear some of these people on the radio/CD and then they stink in person? Totally not the case. Amazing voice. He closed out the concert with his signature "song for you" at the end without a microphone, and we could hear him all the way across the RBC center!
Krispy Kreme run after the show!

Can't wait to go again next year! wink wink hint hint!

Bye Bye Bug... Hello Honda!

2010-07-16T19:35:00.008-04:00

Well the day came... almost as if a right of passage into official adulthood/paying your own bills! We sold my little bug. I have had it since I was 17, and I was always so shocked when I told people that I drive a bug and they said that that fit me. I'm not sure what part of my personality encompasses a bug but I suppose something did! The bug wasn't really practical for long term use and it was time for something else.
It is definitely bittersweet. I'm super excited though that a 16 year old girl bought it and she was thrilled! Her dream car. I remember the days and I am glad that she went to a good home! It made parting with it much easier.

Since the bug sold on craigslist in less than 24 hours, yes you read that correct, crazy I know, the search was on for a new car fast! Thankfully Adam's dad is in the car business and got to work for us. He found a sweet deal for us on eBay, so we drove about 1 1/2 hours away to go and check it out. We get there and find out that the car is being sold by a Casualty Assistance Officer, for a lady who lost her husband in February in Iraq. We found out that her husband had joined the military September 12, 2001, has 2 children and one on the way. It broke our hearts, but we are looking at it that we got to take the car off her hands which I'm sure was a burden so that she could move on. Also to be continually reminded how blessed we are and thankful for the people who serve our country and give their lives so that we are free. We are very thankful and humbled that the Lord provided for us above and beyond our expectations. God is good!

Ocean Isle

2010-07-07T21:44:00.012-04:00

We got to spend a week at Ocean Isle Beach with Adam's family and it was great! We were so looking forward to it after me having sinus surgery 1 1/2 weeks before, and not having a week long vacation since our honeymoon! geeze! This real world thing is rough! And it was the first vacation with my college roommate as my sister-in-law, fun!

The view from our house right on the beach
Our daily afternoon activity, family pool volleyball I think this was my first time winning at putt putt like ever, much to Adam's dismay!
Yes the boys/David made a sling shot to launch water balloons off the deck onto the beach, I'm happy to say no one was harmed
This is before he knew he was going to looooooooose!
We still wish we were still there of course, but looking forward to another beach week with my side in August! We're so blessed to have such wonderful families.

Video Break

2010-07-03T20:34:00.003-04:00

I love watching So You Think You Can Dance. I highly recommend it for the summer. Very entertaining, and they are awesome dancers....totally jealous. Adam will even admit that he likes these 2 choreographers, Nap and Tab short for Tabitha and Napoleon. This is one of their best routines yet!

The next video is of our sweet nephew singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. It is super cute, but maybe I'm just biased!

Pimpley Puppy

2010-07-01T22:53:00.005-04:00

Our little Tucker is growing up....we first noticed some bumps under his chin that weren't going away a while ago. After taking him to the vet they informed us that is was in fact "doggy acne." Basically it is clogged pores, most likely from the oil in his food that builds up. I mean it's not like he wipes his face after he eats! They gave us some medicine/doggy Clearasil to put on them. We started wiping his face after he ate to clean it and they eventually went away. Not until recently has he had any, and boy was this one a doozie!

"Stop Mom you're embarrassing me!!!"
Thankfully they have cleared up for the most part, just in time for his furry best friend to come and play with him for a few days while we're at the beach!

The Weed!

2010-06-14T20:54:00.005-04:00

Adam and I are not much for the yard work. We do the minimum, keep things looking nice, that's about the extent. I wish I had a green thumb like my mom, her yard is beautifully landscaped, all of it done by her. So we figured when this weed started growing up through the porch rails, it was time to go.
Do you see the size of those roots! Adam had to use a shovel!
Well we might not win neighborhood yard of the year but we try not to be an eyesore!

The Furminator!

2010-06-10T16:00:00.001-04:00

With warmer weather comes a lot more dog hair, as The Tuck sheds his winter coat. There was dog hair everywhere, and something had to be done...pronto! We took a family trip to PetSmart and behold I found:

It was a little pricey so the hubby had to be talked into it, the biggest selling point for him/us was that it gets the undercoat. With traditional de-shedding tools they only do the top layer, but Labs have an undercoat that needs to be shedded as well. It was totally worth it! I think I took off half a dog the first timeHe still sheds of course but not nearly the volume that he was before. They recommend weekly maintenance to keep it at a minimum. In my opinion great investment, after all I am the one sweeping the house!

Weddings and the Lake

2010-06-07T16:00:00.000-04:00

A couple of weekends in May, Adam and I got to go to some friends weddings. Our pastor is doing a series on Ephesians, one week he talked about marriage and I think he said it best. He said that the reason that weddings are emotional is because, "There is a moment in every wedding... when the bride enters the church... rarely is it because of how beautiful the wife is... (no offense) but I think, here is a picture of purity and beauty... yet, when Christ married me, I was ugly and scarred and deformed... and had sold myself to sin completely... a slave to sin, and Christ received me. He made me, not found me, lovely." We got to stay at home during the weddings and visit with family. We took a boat ride with Adams parents. Tucker loved the boat, true water dog!
Yes folks, that is a helicopter dock, and that is not the only one we saw.... hum shall I take the chopper or bentley to work today?....
We love this place!
And finally, the back of Kid Rocks house on the lake, massive!

Camping Trip Year 2!

2010-06-04T17:00:00.000-04:00

Well this year for Memorial Day weekend we all headed to Charleston, SC. One of our favorite cities, so much charm! It is becoming an annual thing! Last year we headed to Wrightsville Beach, but we decided on Charleston this year since several people had not been. We had a great time and some good eatin'! I think Hymans Seafood was probably our favorite of the weekend!
The view from our campsite
Boys playing in the waterWe got to visit the glorious Cupcake shop, a definite must!
I forgot to take a picture of our campsite but Christy, our registered trip photographer will definitely have some great pics! We had a great time and I can't wait to see where we end up next year!